We won’t see Kevin De Bruyne again until 2024: why an operation, did he recover too early and what is the impact on City and Devils?

Why operation?

Pep Guardiola confirmed this in half words on the eve of the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla in Athens this Tuesday. “It is serious. Several doctors have seen the pictures and they are of the same opinion. We have to decide whether to do the surgery or not, but he will be out for a few months.”

However, according to our information, the decision has already been made: KDB will be operationalized in the coming days. and his absence should extend to at least four months.

Little flashback. Only in the second half of last season, the Devils’ captain suffered from a strained hamstring muscle of his right thigh. However, he overcame the pain to retain his place in the Champions League final. Except that the injury got worse and turned into a third-degree tear.

Manchester City was the first to endorse classic rehabilitation without surgery. But in view of the recent recurrence, it was decided to adopt a different strategy by performing this surgery which involves reattaching the torn tendon to its original position. What you should not delay doing at the risk of new complications. Many players can also confirm this.

For example, Danish striker Viktor Fischer (ex-Antwerp), when he started his career at Ajax, was sidelined for more than a whole year because the operation was not done quickly enough. His thigh problems continued to plague him for the rest of his career, forcing him into early retirement at just 29. It was the same result for former great Belgian hope Mathias Bossaert, who had an operation at the age of 17 when he was in the city and at 25 his pace was slowed by pain throughout his short career. .

Did he pick up too soon?

By including him against Burnley last Friday, did Guardiola revive too quickly a player who had been injured only eight weeks earlier? it’s possible. The City manager replied, “We could have asked him not to play, but this injury could have happened later. Before making a decision, I spoke to the doctor, the physiotherapist and him. He said he felt fine.” “

In 2020, Ousmane Dembele also underwent this operation, just after his transfer from Dortmund to FC Barcelona. The mistake of resuming the competition too quickly after the first warning a few weeks ago, no doubt because Barca wanted to make use of their €135m rookie as quickly as possible. The Frenchman then missed five months of competition, but then suffered a new thigh injury each season.

However, let’s be more optimistic for De Bruyne. The aim of the operation is apparently to avoid a new recurrence with the main aim of the Euro in Germany to prepare it for the 2024 debut.

What would be the consequences for the city?

Inevitably, losing the best attacking midfielder in the Premier League would be detrimental. Guardiola admits, “Kevin’s injury is a blow, a big loss. He has specific qualities. Losing him for a long time is really difficult for us. We have options with talented players, but Kevin is irreplaceable. If If there’s an injury, this is one.” Opportunity for another player and I am sure he will take it.”

However, Manchester City should accelerate the recruitment of the oft-quoted Lucas Paqueta or even Jérémy Doku (see elsewhere) to allow Bernardo Silva to develop further into the pivot. His teammate Rodri commented, “He is one of the most important players of the club and we will miss him very much. We will try to support him in these moments. Nobody wants injury. I saw him the other day and He was positive.” He is an experienced player, he knows he has to recover.”

What alternative for the devils?

The frustration would be immense for Domenico Tedesco, who was only able to use his new captain in his first rally. The central element of the initial scheme in the 4-2-3-1, there is no real lining capable of bringing out so much creativity in KDB. The use of Yannick Carrasco in Axis against Austria didn’t really reassure the coach, who should think about a replacement.

One can imagine the normally less attacking central midfielders – such as Tielemans or Onana – being used a notch higher. Another idea would be to move Leandro Trossard or Mike Tresor to the pivot, as they have already done at the club. Considering Thorgan Hazard and his versatility, it would not be impossible for him to be called up again, despite his short playing time at Dortmund.