Manchester City duo Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden will be 'out for a while' with injuries sustained at Euro 2020
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 07/08/2021 at 09:50 GMT
Manchester City will be without key midfield duo Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden as the pair continue to recover from injuries sustained during the European Championship. Pep Guardiola revealed the players will be "out for a while" as he appeared particularly cautious about the foot injury which has sidelined England star Foden.
'It was something I could not say no to' - Grealish gives 1st Man City interview
Manchester City will be without midfielders Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden for the foreseeable future after boss Pep Guardiola confirmed the pair were still nursing injuries sustained at Euro 2020.
Premier League champions City take on FA Cup winners Leicester City in the Community Shield at Wembley on Saturday but neither Foden nor de Bruyne will be involved.
De Bruyne played through the pain barrier for Belgium in their European Championship quarter-final defeat to Italy having suffered ankle ligament damage earlier in the tournament.
Foden, meanwhile, started England’s opening two matches but found game time limited thereafter and missed the final due to a foot problem.
“Phil had a tough injury and could not play the final,” Guardiola said.
“We have to be careful with this injury because if we don’t [we] anticipate it will be longer. Kevin will come back a bit sooner than Phil but both still out for a while.”
Meanwhile, City’s record signing Jack Grealish will be on the bench for English football’s traditional curtain raiser.
Grealish became the most expensive British player in history on Thursday when he completed a £100 million move from boyhood club Aston Villa to the Etihad Stadium.
However, City fans may well have to wait a bit longer to get a glimpse of the England playmaker in a blue shirt after Guardiola revealed he was not in contention to start at Wembley.
“He [Grealish] is not ready to start at all, he was one week training alone but he'll travel with us tomorrow, to settle with the team, for meetings, and he will be on the bench and we'll see what happens.
"After we'll see what happens but from the beginning, no way."
Leicester, who beat Chelsea at Wembley to lift the FA Cup in May, head into the match with a number of injury concerns of their own.
Jonny Evans, James Justin and Timothy Castagne are all out, while Wesley Fofana looks set for a long spell on the sidelines after the French defender broke his leg during a friendly against Villarreal on Wednesday.
“We are definitely light in the central defensive area. It is something we will have to look at for sure,” Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers said.
"There are people who are identified. We have a small list of players to look at so we will see."
However, despite Leicester’s lengthy injury list, Rodgers could hand debuts to summer signings Patson Daka, Boubakary Soumare and Ryan Bertrand.
And, the ex-Liverpool boss described the Wembley encounter as a “fantastic game” for his Leicester side.
Rodgers said: “We won the FA Cup and against a very good side. It will be a wonderful occasion. Wembley, full house and a chance to get hold of something at the end of it. Manchester City are a fantastic team."
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement