Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne ruled out of Premier League fixture against Arsenal due to injury

Belgium captain was substituted against England last week and missed his national team’s meeting with Iceland on Wednesday

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Kevin De Bruyne will miss Manchester City’s Premier League fixture against Arsenal on Saturday after sustaining an injury while on international duty last week.

De Bruyne captained Belgium in their 2-1 Nations League defeat by England on Sunday before being substituted in the second half. 

Coach Roberto Martinez later admitted the midfielder was “not 100 percent” – without revealing specifics around the injury – and De Bruyne was not included in the Belgium squad that achieved a 2-1 win over Iceland on Wednesday.

And City manager Pep Guardiola has now confirmed that De Bruyne will not be fit in time to take on Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.

“Unfortunately De Bruyne is out,” the Spaniard said on Friday. “But the rest of the players came back well.”

When asked whether De Bruyne’s injury was considered serious, Guardiola said: “I don't think it is, but the next games I think he will be out. 

“We will see. I don’t know [how long]. I can’t answer, because I don’t know.”

After Saturday’s meeting with Arsenal in Manchester, City host Porto in their Champions League group-stage opener on Wednesday. Guardiola’s side then travel to West Ham on 24 October in the Premier League.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager also said that the injured Gabriel Jesus would not be healthy in time to take on Arsenal.

“There are injuries to some muscles where you can take a risk, but there are others where you cannot,” Guardiola said.

“He has an injury in the part of his leg where – if he injured it more – he could be out for a long, long time.”