LAST UPDATE | 2 Nov 2018
KEVIN DE BRUYNE has been ruled out of the upcoming Manchester derby and faces five to six weeks on the sidelines with knee ligament damage.
The Belgium star sustained the injury during Manchester City’s 2-0 EFL Cup win over Fulham that moved the defending champions into the quarter-finals of the competition.
De Bruyne was hurt when Fulham defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah fell backwards onto his left knee and he could not continue.
The midfielder only recently returned from an extended spell on the sidelines due to an injury to the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee.
It means De Bruyne will certainly miss next weekend’s showdown with Manchester United, while he is a doubt to be available to face Premier League title rivals Chelsea on 8 December.
“The Belgian underwent scans on Friday at the CFA [City Football Academy],” a club statement read.
“No surgery is needed but he is expected to be out for between five to six weeks.”
De Bruyne may also be unavailable for the remainder of City’s Champions League Group F campaign, with Pep Guardiola’s side a point ahead of Lyon at the halfway stage.
They host Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday before their remaining games against Lyon and Hoffenheim — the group stage ending on 12 December at home to the Bundesliga outfit.
Despite injuries restricting De Bruyne to three Premier League appearances from the bench this season, City are top of the table having taken 26 points from their 10 matches.
The first game De Bruyne will miss is Sunday’s home game against Southampton.
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