Pep Guardiola has admitted he's still in the dark about when Kevin De Bruyne will make his Manchester City return, despite the initial 'minor' injury label. It's been five weeks since De Bruyne suffered a thigh issue during the Champions League game against Inter, and while he's back training with the team, he's not ready to play just yet.

Speaking after City’s 3-1 win at Everton on Dec. 27, 2023, Pep Guardiola gave the following Kevin De Bruyne injury update. “He’s close but he had fatigue,” Guardiola said. “We have to be careful he’s been injured for three months like an ACL for six months, if you don’t handle the timings well, you get injured again.

De Bruyne has been sidelined since limping off during the interval of a European tie against Inter in mid-September. The Belgian innocuously overstretched for the ball and damaged his hamstring, which has been a problem area since he was forced off in the first half of the 2023 Champions League final.