Kevin De Bruyne Doesn't Need Surgery on Injury, Set to Miss 3 Months

Manchester City have confirmed Kevin De Bruyne doesn't require surgery on his knee injury, but he is still set for three months on the sidelines.

BBC Sport reported the Belgium international picked up a knee problem on Wednesday in training.

City provided an update on his condition on Friday:

Kristof Terreur of Het Laatste Nieuws had earlier noted De Bruyne won't have to go under the knife:

While City will be disappointed to be without their star man for the first few months of their Premier League title defence, they will be relieved that De Bruyne appears set to return to action well before the end of the year at least.

De Bruyne turned up at the premiere of the All or Nothing documentary on crutches and with his right knee in a brace:

Per BBC Sport, De Bruyne injured the same knee in 2016 and missed 12 games.

Commentator Ian Darke thinks the absence of De Bruyne will give some teams hope of challenging City for the top-flight prize:

The previous campaign was one to remember for De Bruyne, as he was the heartbeat of a record-breaking City side. Overall, he scored 12 goals and laid on 21 assists for team-mates, helping Pep Guardiola's side romp to both the Premier League title and the Carabao Cup.

With his remarkable technical ability, vision and end product in the final third, De Bruyne will be a huge miss for City.

In recent years, there hasn't been a more creative player in the game than the former Chelsea man:

Guardiola's side will be weaker without last season's Player of the Year, although if any team in the top flight is capable of coping without their best player, it's City.

In the Premier League opener against Arsenal, the champions fielded Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan in the advanced midfield positions; the former capped a fine display with a goal, while the latter was crucial to City controlling the contest from the first whistle to the last.

In addition, City have David Silva still to come back into the side, while big things are expected of 18-year-old Phil Foden this season, with the youngster excelling in the recent 2-0 win over Chelsea in the Community Shield.