Last night, reports emerged detailing the extent of the injury issues faced by two of Manchester City's most influential players – Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne, with both players carrying injuries sustained during the European Championships.
PHIL FODEN
James Ducker of The Telegraph has revealed that Phil Foden is not expected to return until after the international break next month due to the injury he sustained with England before the EURO 2020 final against Italy last month, where he over flexed his foot in a training session, which has left what is understood to be quite unusual damage.
In his press conference prior to the Community Shield defeat against Leicester, Pep Guardiola said:
"Phil Foden will be still out for a while, he had a tough injury for the national team and couldn’t play the final. We have to be careful because we have to anticipate that it could be longer [if he comes back too soon]."
Ducker writes that the 21-year-old will miss City's first three Premier League games against Spurs, Norwich, and Arsenal, along with England's fixtures against Hungary, Andorra, and Poland, and that it remains to be seen as to whether he could return on time for City's league game against Leicester on September 11th – following the international break.
KEVIN DE BRUYNE
Paul Hirst and Pol Ballus of The Times have disclosed Kevin De Bruyne's current injury situation following the ankle ligament damage he sustained in the EUROs against Portugal, with the Belgian said to have returned to Manchester still feeling pain.
The Times pair have revealed that De Bruyne flew out to Doctor Ramon Cugat's clinic in Barcelona for a scan of the ankle last week, where it was diagnosed that the midfielder could train with the squad today (Monday) but that the club had to keep an eye on whether the ankle swells.
Hirst and Ballus explain that City are aware that they need to treat the injury with caution to avoid a long-term issue because if the ligaments were to get seriously injured again, the 30-year-old could require surgery, which would rule him out for several months.
Pep Guardiola had this to say in his pre-Leicester press conference:
"And Kevin is still out as well. I think he’ll come back a little quicker than Phil apparently, but both are still out for a while."
ELSEWHERE
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Aymeric Laporte is isolating:
"He’s tested negative but he travelled on a flight with more than 100 people and one person on this flight was positive. The rules right now are that he has to be at home for eight days. He has been at home for four or five days, that’s why he has not come back yet."
Nahuel Bustos and Dario Sarmiento have joined Girona, while Aro Muric and Matt Smith have joined Adana Demirspor and Hull, respectively – all on season-long loans from Manchester City.
Written by: @NA1907_
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