Kevin De Bruyne Won't Need Surgery for Knee Injury, Will Be Out for 5-6 Weeks

Kevin De Bruyne will be out for between five and six weeks after he suffered a knee injury in Manchester City's 2-0 win over Fulham on Thursday.

The Belgium international limped out of the Carabao Cup round-of-16 win, and tests conducted by City's medical staff revealed that while he won't require surgery, he could miss up to 10 matches for the Sky Blues with ligament damage, per the club's official website.

City host Manchester United on November 11 after home matches against Southampton and Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday and Wednesday.

After the international break, the Citizens travel to West Ham United and Lyon before welcoming Bournemouth to the Etihad Stadium on December 1.

If he's out of action for six weeks, he might also miss matches with Watford, Chelsea, Hoffenheim and Everton.

The 27-year-old was making just his fifth appearance of the season on Thursday, having been sidelined with a problem in his right knee, but he failed to last 90 minutes and had to be withdrawn five minutes from time after Timothy Fosu-Mensah landed on his left knee.

James Robson of the Evening Standard was impressed with De Bruyne's performance prior to his premature exit:

It's easy to see why:

De Bruyne is one of City's most important players, but such is the strength of their quality and depth, they have still managed to occupy top spot in the Premier League in his absence.

The club is unbeaten with eight wins from 10 matches and already has a goal difference of 24, having scored 27 and conceded just three.

Nevertheless, another lengthy spell on the sidelines for De Bruyne does City no favours, particularly with the busy festive period approaching.

City will need to make full use of their squad while the Belgian is out of action and hope they can continue to keep their season on track at the same time.