Manchester City duo Kevin De Bruyne and Vincent Kompany have been sent to Barcelona to find a cure for their recurring injury scares. The Belgian duo picked up knocks against Swansea in a doubleheader last week. While De Bruyne injured his hamstring in a 3-1 Premier League win over Swansea, Kompany picked up a groin problem in the EFL game against the Welsh side.
Along with Sergio Aguero, Kompany and De Bruyne have been City’s most frequently injured players in recent months. It was De Bruyne’s injury which saw Manuel Pellegrini’s campaign get derailed last season while Kompany’s luck with injuries has not changed in recent times as well and the City captain has spent more time on the bench than out on the pitch.
While City have gone out and brought the likes of Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones to cover for Belgian’s absence but with Kompany in the starting XI, Manchester City look a far more assured side. Although Kompany is important for City, it is De Bruyne’s injury which has got Guardiola more worried at this moment.
Former Chelsea outcast has started the season in a great manner, scoring 2 goals and managing 4 assists in the Premier League. It was De Bruyne who scored the opening goal against Manchester United and then set up Kelechi Iheanacho for the winning goal.
What next for Manchester City?
According to the reports, De Bruyne will miss the action for up to 3-4 weeks. During that time, City will be taking the field against Tottenham, Everton, Barcelona (UCL) and Manchester United (EFL). Needless to say, City will miss the playmaker’s presence as bad run of results might see their season go off track.
Having said that, Blue side of Manchester has a much better squad than last season and form of Raheem Sterling is a huge factor. Sterling has been City’s best player this season alongside Aguero and De Bruyne and will be asked to share the attacking load going forward.
David Silva has almost gone under the radar this season but is always a key player for Manchester City and the ideal scenario would be to give Silva the free role to roam around behind Aguero and bring Fernando to midfield along with Fernandinho.
We could even see the youngster Leroy Sane given an extended run during De Bruyne’s absence to go and make a name for himself. Sane joined City in a big money deal from Schalke this season and is yet to get regular playing time under Guardiola.
While De Bruyne and Kompany’s absence will be a big factor for Manchester City, their squad is prepared to deal with crucial injury blows better than they were last season.
