Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was the most notable absentee from the travelling party for Manchester City’s UEFA Super Cup clash with Seville after being struck down by a hamstring injury.
De Bruyne limped out of Friday night’s 3-0 Premier League win at promoted Burnley with a recurrence of the problem which prompted his early withdrawal from last season’s Champions League final, and City boss Pep Guardiola later revealed the 32-year-old Belgium international would be sidelined for “a few weeks”.
The club is yet to provide an update on the severity of the damage, but the midfielder’s name was conspicuous by its absence from the 22-man squad list for Wednesday night’s game in Athens when it was published on City’s official website on Monday afternoon.
.@PepTeam has announced his 22-man travelling squad for Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup clash with Sevilla! 🏆
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 14, 2023
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De Bruyne has been one of City’s key performers since his £55million arrival from Wolfsburg in August 2015, and is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished midfielders in world football.
There was no place either for midfielder Bernardo Silva, the only other member of the matchday squad at Burnley who was not included, or central defender Ruben Dias, who was not involved in the opening league fixture under concussion protocols.
Kalvin Phillips and Jack Grealish, who were unused substitutes at Turf Moor, did make it, as did the versatile John Stones, who sat out on Friday evening through injury.
Squad (in number order): Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Mateo Kovacic, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Aymeric Laporte, Rodrigo, Stefan Ortega Moreno, Julian Alvarez, Sergio Gomez, Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji, Ederson, Maximo Perrone, Scott Carson, Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb, Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis, James McAtee.
