Kevin De Bruyne set for lengthy spell on sidelines after suffering knee injury in Manchester City training

De Bruyne will undergo further tests this week to determine the full extent of the injury

Kevin De Bruyne appears to be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering torn ligament damage to his right knee in training on Wednesday.

The full extent of the Manchester City playmaker's injury is not yet known, with further tests to be carried out this week.

De Bruyne was sidelined for nine weeks of the 2015-16 season with a knee ligament injury, however, and is now likely to be unavailable for a similar timeframe.

The 27-year-old will be assessed by City's medical staff over the coming days and is expected to fly out to see Ramon Cugat, a specialist based in Barcelona used regularly by City.

De Bruyne only returned to training at City last week, having progressed to the latter stages of the World Cup with Belgium.

Despite only a week's worth of training, Pep Guardiola named De Bruyne among the substitutes for Sunday's trip to Arsenal and brought the playmaker on after the hour-mark.

De Bruyne's absence will come as a significant blow to the Premier League champions, who were inspired by his performances on the way to last season's title.

The Belgian narrowly lost out to Liverpool's Mohamed Salah in the end-of-year individual awards and City rewarded the 27-year-old for his performances with a new contract earlier this year.

Guardiola failed to add depth to his midfield during the summer transfer window, however, and now appears at risk of losing his most influential player in the middle of the park for several months.