Kevin De Bruyne will be out of action “for a while” after injury forced him off the pitch in the first half against Burnley on Friday night.
The Premier League champions kicked off the new season with a dominant 3-0 win over Vincent Kompany’s side, thanks to a brace from Erling Haaland and a strike from Rodri.
De Bruyne went down with an injury midway through the opening half and was subsequently replaced by new signing Mateo Kovacic. Guardiola confirmed after the game that he re-injured his hamstring, two months after the same issue saw him subbed out of the Uefa Champions League final.
“Unfortunately he is injured again,” the Man City boss told Sky Sports. “He said to me it’s a problem in the same position as the Champions League.
“He recovered well but now we’ve lost him for a while. We have to reflect and talk to the doctors and the physios.
“He has to be relaxed, recover and come back. He was feeling really good.”
When asked if it was a mistake to start De Bruyne, Guardiola responded: “Maybe, but what happens in the first 15 minutes could also have come in the 50th, 65th, 70th minute…”
City got their title defence off to a perfect start when Haaland scored just three minutes after kickoff.
Burnley did manage to put the visitors on the back foot on a few occasions, pressing up high to win the ball in City’s half and create chances. But the Norwegian doubled the lead in the 36th minute following a quick corner routine.
The game was marred by a first-half incident which saw an object hit Rico Lewis. The fan suspected of throwing the object was ejected from the stadium.
After the interval Rodri hammered home the side’s third of the night to put the result beyond doubt. hand City their first three points of the campaign.
Kevin De Bruyne will miss next week’s meeting with Newcastle United at the Etihad. Burnley do not have another league game until the end of the month as their scheduled trip to Luton Town has been postponed.
