Manchester City have confirmed Kevin De Bruyne will miss the next three months of the season with a knee injury.
The Belgian sustained a lateral collateral ligament (LCL) lesion in his right knee in training on Sunday.
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He flew to Barcelona on Thursday for further investigation on the problem and to undergo scans.
De Bruyne’s agent said: “The medical tests will clarify how serious or not the injury is.
“It happened in training while he was standing on his own – he wasn’t involved in a challenge.
“It was an unfortunate accident. He said it felt the same as it did two years ago.”
We can confirm @DeBruyneKev has suffered a lateral collateral ligament (LCL) lesion in his right knee.
No surgery is required, and the midfielder is expected to be out for around three months.
Get well soon, KDB! #mancity pic.twitter.com/hozcvnF8BX
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 17, 2018
De Bruyne was spotted on crutches as he attended the premiere of City’s new documentary series in Manchester city centre on Wednesday night.
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A statement released this morning said: “Manchester City can confirm Kevin De Bruyne has suffered a lateral collateral ligament (LCL) lesion in his right knee.
“No surgery is required, and the midfielder is expected to be out for around three months.
“Everyone at City wishes him a speedy return to action and mancity.com will bring you updates on his progress as we get them.”
Pep Guardiola is due to give a press conference at the Etihad campus later on Friday afternoon.