Pep Guardiola Confirms Kevin de Bruyne's Availability vs. Burnley
Manchester City are likely to welcome Kevin de Bruyne back to competitive action this weekend when they play Sean Dyche's Burnley at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The Belgian midfielder has been out since August 15, having suffered ligament damage to his right knee during training, and has only made a single appearance for the Premier League champions so far this season.
City boss Pep Guardiola spoke to reporters this Friday ahead of the home clash with the Clarets, and confirmed that De Bruyne is available for selection.
"I don't know if he is able to play for 90 minutes but he has trained really well for the last two weeks and has no pain, so he is ready to be part of the group again," the Spaniard said, via Manchester Evening News.
"He is an important player for us," said Guardiola. "Every player that is out and comes back makes us stronger. There is no doubt how important he is for us."
It was initially thought that the midfielder would miss the first three months of the season as a result of the injury. However, he returned to full training six weeks later. The manager had ruled him fit for City's 0-0 draw against Liverpool at Anfield two weeks ago, yet the midfielder was not included in the squad.
Guardiola has also given updates on the statuses of Fabian Delph and Ilkay Gundogan, saying: "Ilkay is not fit and Fabian is training with us. Gundogan will be two or three weeks? One week, two weeks? I don't know exactly."
