Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has revealed that he will be out of action for over two months with the ankle and knee injuries sustained in the League Cup semi-final defeat of Everton on Wednesday.
De Bruyne landed awkwardly and had to be stretchered off the pitch in the closing stages of the dramatic game at the Etihad Stadium, in which City came from a goal down to beat the Toffees 3-1 to secure a 4-3 aggregate victory.
Following early scans on Thursday, it had been expected that De Bruyne would only miss six weeks but, after further examinations, the player himself confirmed via Twitter that it will be 10 weeks before he is back in action.
The Belgian had played a key part in City's League Cup turnaround, having come off the bench in the second half to score City's second and set up their third, but he left the Etihad on crutches and with heavy strapping on his right leg.
He had been in high spirits as he spoke to reporters on his way out of the ground and had initially said that he would be fit in time for the League Cup final against Liverpool on February 28.
But he is now unlikely to return until the start of April, meaning that he will not only miss the League Cup final but also City's Champions League last-16 second-leg tie against Dynamo Kiev and the Manchester derby in late March, among a host of other key fixtures.
His agent, Patrick De Koster, had earlier told Sky Sports: "I spoke with him half an hour ago and he is a little bit sad because he has got a tear in his ankle and also the ligament in his knee are touched. I think for sure he will need six weeks of rehabilitation.
"He is still going to do some more medicals today and at the end of the day, I think, at least tomorrow morning, we will have the time he needs to be 100 per cent again."
However, his injury also means that he is likely to miss the first international set of fixtures of the year, which are scheduled for the end of March.
