Pep Guardiola reveals when he expects injured Man City star Kevin De Bruyne to return

Pep Guardiola said he hopes to have Kevin De Bruyne back after the October international break, with the midfielder sidelined due to an ongoing injury.

The Belgian picked up a knock in City’s game against Inter Milan on 18 September and has missed the last three games as a result. He was also omitted from the travelling City squad that flew to Slovakia on Monday ahead of the Champions League game against Slovan Bratislava.

“Hopefully after the international break he [Kevin] will be back,” Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference, essentially ruling the 33-year-old out of Saturday’s clash against Fulham.

“Everybody is ready - we will put out the best team possible to compete and beat them,” the City boss added on Tuesday’s fixture in Slovakia.

De Bruyne’s injury could see Phil Foden start in an attacking role, especially with Ilkay Gundogan failing to impress in that position on Saturday.

Along with De Bruyne, the Blues are without Nathan Ake, Rodri and Oscar Bobb, with Guardiola only naming a 19-man travelling squad for the game against Bratislava.

City drew 1-1 with Inter Milan last time out in the Champions League and will be hopeful of taking a first victory in this season’s competition up against a side that lost 5-1 to Celtic in the opening round of games.

Despite that, Guardiola said he is expecting a tough fixture. “This is a team that I would say plays with courage,” he said on Monday.

“I saw the game against Glasgow Celtic and they were not scared to play,” Guardiola pointed out. Not scared to link with their striker and they want to try it. “The Champions League, it doesn’t matter. I always have incredible respect for all the teams, especially when you play away. Hopefully we can be an aggressive team again and take a result.”