Guardiola has revealed that Kevin De Bruyne will miss Manchester City’s FA Cup quarter-final against Newcastle, with the Belgium midfielder struggling to recover from injury in the final weeks of his side’s treble bid. recover. De Bruyne has been left out of Belgium’s squad for upcoming friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and England due to a groin strain. Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco claims De Bruyne has been struggling with the issue “in the past few games”. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said the 32-year-old felt the injury before he was substituted in the second half of last weekend’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Liverpool. De Bruyne has missed most of the season after aggravating a hamstring injury in City’s league opener against Burnley in August.
He will be absent for Newcastle’s visit to the Etihad Stadium and Guardiola was unable to confirm his availability for the crucial showdown with Premier League leaders Arsenal on March 31.
“He already had some problems playing at Anfield. But he is getting better. He is not ready for tomorrow,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
“We spoke to the Belgian coach and he made his decision. That’s why I’m grateful because he didn’t feel good. Hopefully now he can recover for the final part of the season.”
“All the players in modern football today, they are not clean (fit). They always have problems. He didn’t feel well the day after the game, so it’s better to step back.”
De Bruyne is not Guardiola’s only injury problem, Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson will also miss the game against Newcastle.
Ederson came off with a muscle injury against Liverpool and Stefan Ortega will feature against Newcastle.
Guardiola hopes Ederson will be fit to face Arsenal, who are a point ahead of third-placed Manchester City in a gripping title race.
“Ederson is getting better and hopefully he will be ready after the international break,” he said.
If City beat Newcastle this weekend, they will remain in contention to win a second consecutive treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
In Friday’s Champions League quarter-final draw, they faced Real Madrid again after defeating the Spanish giants in last year’s semi-finals and losing at the same stage in 2022.
Guardiola said: “It seems a bit traditional to play against the king of the Champions League who has won 14 Champions League titles three years in a row.”
“That’s what it is. Hopefully we arrive at a good time. It’s still a few weeks until the first game in Madrid. We’ll see.”
On City’s treble hopes, Guardiola added: “I’m not thinking about it now. I’ll let you know in the last month of the season.
“Now it’s the FA Cup quarter-finals against a top team. Then we have the international break, where we get back into shape and play another final against Arsenal.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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