Manchester City team news: Pep Guardiola confirms Kevin De Bruyne is fit to face Burnley
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne is available for Manchester City’s Premier League match against Burnley on Saturday.
De Bruyne has been out injured since August 15 after suffering lateral collateral ligament damage to his right knee.
"I don't know if he is able to play 90 mins,” Guardiola said today at his pre-match press conference. “But he trained well in the last 2 weeks without pain. He is ready to be part of the group."
The Belgian sustained the injury in training after making his sole appearance this season against Arsenal and travelled to Barcelona the following day to be assessed by Guardiola's much-vaunted specialist Dr Ramon Cugat,
It was initially reported that the midfielder would then miss the first three months of the Premier League season but De Bruyne returned to full training after just six weeks prior to the international break.
Guardiola previously De Bruyne would be available to start in Manchester City’s 0-0 draw against Liverpool at Anfield a fortnight ago but De Bruyne was not included in the squad.
Nor did De Bruyne join the Belgium squad for their Uefa Nations League fixtures again Switzerland and the Netherlands last week but now, almost exactly two months onward, he has fully recovered and can expect to make a brief cameo on the weekend at the very least with Guardiola keen to take caution ushering him back into the side.
De Bruyne scored eight and assisted sixteen goals in the Premier League last season, yet although his injury was a major setback he returns to the team still joint top of the table with Liverpool and Chelsea with Bernardo Silva flourishing in his absence.
