The Blues will begin their 2021/22 domestic campaign on Saturday, as they face Leicester City in the FA Community Shield at Wembley.
Several members of Pep Guardiola’s squad are expected the be unavailable for the fixture, with City Xtra exclusively reporting last month that Brazilian pair Ederson and Gabriel Jesus would not feature at Wembley.
Those who took part in the latter stages of European Championship, such as John Stones, Kyle Walker, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden are also yet to return to pre-season training, and therefore won’t play any part at the weekend.
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Despite having returned to pre-season training, City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed that Kevin De Bruyne will also not be available for selection this weekend, or for the foreseeable future.
The Catalan confirmed that both Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne will be sidelined for the start of the new season, as he addressed the media ahead of City’s meeting with Leicester this weekend.
Foden, who missed the European Championship final due to an injury picked up during England training, will be “out for a while”, according to Guardiola.
While De Bruyne, who suffered an injury-stricken Euro’s campaign with Belgium, “will come back a bit quicker than Phil”, said the Catalan.
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Speaking about the injuries to two of Manchester City’s key players, Guardiola said, “Foden will still be out for a while. We have to be careful, or it will be longer. Kevin is still out. I think he will come back a bit quicker than Phil apparently, but both are still out for a while”
Manchester City begin their Premier League title defence away to Spurs next Sunday, before facing Arsenal, Leicester, Chelsea and Liverpool in the opening weeks of the season.
You can follow us for live updates here: @City_Xtra
