Analysis: How Kevin de Bruyne’s injury could impact Manchester City’s title credentials?

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According to the latest news coming out of the Etihad, Manchester City’s talisman Kevin de Bruyne will be sidelined for approximately six weeks after suffering a hamstring injury during the Sky Blues’ 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Wednesday last week.

After initial scans, Pep Guardiola confirmed on Friday that De Bruyne will be ruled out of action for a lengthy timespan, that too, in a period where the Citizens’ squad has been marred by injuries. Most recently, another one of City’s most prominent stars, Sergio Aguero tested positive for the coronavirus, leaving the squad highly depleted, especially on the attacking front.

While City can expect Aguero to bounce back from the latest setback in the upcoming weeks, the injury to Kevin de Bruyne comes as a massive blow to Guardiola’s men, in a crucial juncture of the campaign.

Ever since the departure of David Silva, the 29-year-old has had to burden the weight of creating chances and carving out opposition defences.

Statistically speaking, the former Wolfsburg playmaker has contributed three goals and 10 assists in 17 league matches, which means he provides 0.64 assists per 90 minutes in the Premier League, highest for any player in the division.

After De Bruyne, the next Manchester City player on the aforementioned ranking is Phil Foden, who ranks 34th in the division with just 0.23 assists per 90. That being said, there’s little doubt that City will find it hard to replace their talisman.

What kind of an impact will Kevin de Bruyne’s injury have, on Manchester City’s title credentials?

Widely regarded as one of the best in his position across all of Europe, De Bruyne is expected to miss City’s upcoming matches against Liverpool, Tottenham and possibly Arsenal as well.

He will be a huge miss against the Merseysiders, given the likely outcome that fixture can have in setting the tone for the upcoming weeks.

City are entering the business end of the campaign now, with games coming in thick and fast, Guardiola will be counting on all of his players, and under usual circumstances, Kevin de Bruyne would be one of the first names on the teamsheet, but the Catalan coach will now have to improvise and adapt.

Prior to David Silva’s departure, the Belgian was free to roam around the pitch and wreak havoc, however since the veteran left the Etihad, the burden of creating goalscoring chances has come upon De Bruyne’s shoulders.

That, combined with his ability to step-up in crucial games – The 29-year-old provided the assist in City’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, a goal and an assist in the 3-1 win over Chelsea, and similar contributions in tricky games against Southampton, Brighton etc mean that he will be a big miss in the upcoming weeks.

How City plan to cope with Kevin De Bruyne’s absence would be anybody’s guess right now, although one thing that becomes clear from the aforementioned statistics is that there’s no other player who can single-handedly win points for City like the Drongen native.

Will his absence dent City’s hopes of snatching the league title off Liverpool? Only time will tell that, however one can expect the Sky Blues to struggle a bit now that one of their most potent weapons is set for an extended spell on the treatment table.