Kevin De Bruyne could MISS Manchester derby on Sunday as Pep Guardiola admits he 'doesn't know how long' the Man City midfielder will be out for with a back injury
* Kevin De Bruyne was not in the Manchester City squad on Wednesday night
* City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed the Belgian has picked up a back issue
* The midfielder landed awkwardly towards the end of the Carabao Cup final
* The champions face fierce rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday
Pep Guardiola has raised the prospect of Kevin De Bruyne missing the Manchester derby after sustaining a back injury.
De Bruyne missed Wednesday night’s slender FA Cup fifth round victory at Sheffield Wednesday after landing awkwardly towards the end of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
‘Kevin had a problem, he was not fit,’ Guardiola said. ‘He fell down in a bad position in his back. We don’t know how long (he will be out).’
Kevin De Bruyne picked up a back issue on Sunday and could miss the Manchester derby. Man City manager Pep Guardiola says he does not know how long the Belgian will be out for
Asked if he is doubtful for Manchester City’s trip to Old Trafford on Sunday, Guardiola added: ‘I don’t know right now.’
City crept through to the quarter-finals, where they will travel to Newcastle United, after Sergio Aguero’s 53rd-minute winner.
The Argentine labelled Guardiola ‘a good and crazy manager’ after a frank exchange on the touchline following his substitution and the City boss laughed off the discussion.
‘I like to be crazy,’ he said. ‘It’s not an incident. I substituted him for Raheem (Sterling) and we spoke about the spaces to attack. His team mates didn’t find him.
‘The challenge is the next one. In the Premier League it is to make it uncomfortable for our opponents and to retain second place. It’s better being in the FA Cup than being out.
‘We go to Newcastle before the international break and we struggled there last time. We spent a lot of mental energy in the last four games – all away from home.’
Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk bemoaned Aguero’s goal, claiming that the striker was offside and the lack of VAR at Hillsborough.
‘Overall I'm disappointed to lose the game to a goal that should have been offside,’ Monk said. ‘I would rather have lost it to a goal that was more legitimate. Disappointed with the result but I’m very pleased with the level of commitment.
‘What is strange is having VAR in some grounds and not others. But I am not complaining. Credit to them, they are a fantastic team.
‘We had to make some good saves and last-ditch tackles. When the players follow the gameplan it shows why we were third at Christmas.
‘We would have been there or thereabouts but various reasons we haven’t done. A lot of that has been self-inflicted.’
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