After leaving the pitch in the 36th minute of Manchester City's Champions League final victory over Inter on Saturday, it has now been revealed that midfielder Kevin de Bruyne's injury is actually a hamstring tear, per The Telegraph. De Bruyne had been playing with a hamstring tear for the past two months while City chased Arsenal for the league title while also participating in Champions League. But against Inter, that hamstring finally snapped causing de Bruyne to need to be replaced by Phil Foden in the clash.
While City were still able to win the Champions League title without de Bruyne, it's an injury that is certainly a concerning one for a 31-year-old who rarely gets time off for club and county. With the addition of the Nations League to an already-loaded European schedule, and City consistently taking part in Champions League, de Bruyne rarely gets time off. Featuring in 49 games for City this season, de Bruyne has played in 40 or more club matches for four consecutive seasons.
There are times during the season where it seemed like something was up with de Bruyne as he lacked his normal dynamism and with this coming out, it's clear why. The recovery time for an injury of this nature could sideline him for preseason where things could look a little murky if Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan do leave Manchester this summer.
It won't be an injury that goes as far as to call retirement into question but entering another grueling season, it could make Pep Guardiola wonder if it's more important to rotate his star midfielder to ensure that de Bruyne is fresh and available for as many games as possible. That would also mean more minutes for Phil Foden which is only a good thing for City and England.
Heading into another season after now accomplishing their goal of winning Champions League, all eyes will be on if City can do it again but they'll need De Bruyne available in order to pull off that feat.
