Earlier this week I wrote that the situation surrounding Kevin De Bruyne was fast becoming an elephant in the room for Manchester City. Confusion had surrounded the status of the Manchester City legend especially given his late substitute appearance against Liverpool at Anfield. But yesterday Pep Guardiola emphatically dispatched that elephant from the room. He also put to bed any talk of a rift between himself and the Manchester City legend.
First of all, Pep Guardiola confirmed that De Bruyne is still working his way towards full fitness. The City manager confirmed that De Bruyne has trained well in recent days ahead of City’s crucial Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest. That was welcome news to hear from Pep Guardiola. But there was more news to come in the embargoed section of Pep Guardiola’s pre-game press conference ahead of his team’s clash with Nottingham Forest.
READ MORE: Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest: Latest City team news and more.
Speaking about De Bruyne’s recent absence and subsequent brief appearances off the bench Pep Guardiola emphatically ended any notion of a rift between himself and Kevin De Bruyne. He emphatically dispatched the elephant from the room when he said: “People say, ‘Ah Kevin, he has a problem with Kevin!’ Do you think I would not like to play Kevin?! Ah, I don’t want Kevin to play… The guy who has the most talents in the final third and the other one. No, no I don’t want it. I have a personal problem with him. Nine years together, he delivered to me the big successes in this club. But I think it’s been five months injured, and two months injured, at 34-years-old, and he needs time to get to his best. And like last season having step by step to do it, and try to do it, and feel better. And I’m desperate to have him at his best.”
There is no elephant in the room regarding the status of Kevin De Bruyne. He is just taking longer than expected to get over the injury he suffered against Inter Milan in September. Given De Bruyne’s age that isn’t a major surprise. Although he has been training for almost two months now it has taken time for the Manchester City legend to get over his ailment.
The hope is that when he does, he can inspire his team back into form. De Bruyne is still an inspirational figure to his teammates. Manchester City have missed that on top of De Bruyne’s talent during their winless run. His absence has stood out like a sore thumb, especially of late. But the elephant in the room was emphatically removed by Pep Guardiola yesterday. That is welcome news in itself. Now we await De Bruyne’s return to full fitness.
