Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne will miss Manchester City's FA Cup quarter-final through injury.
City will look to secure a place in the semi-finals of the competition for a sixth consecutive season when they host Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The cup holders will have to do so without De Bruyne though, as they Belgian midfielder has been ruled out of the match with an injury.
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Speaking to the media on Friday ahead of the game, City boss Guardiola issued an update on the severity of the issue.
"He [De Bruyne] is not ready [for tomorrow]," Guardiola said.
"He already played at Anfield [against Liverpool last weekend] with some problems. But he’s getting better, just not ready for tomorrow."
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Guardiola thanked the Belgian national team set up for agreeing not to call up the 32-year-old for upcoming friendlies against Republic of Ireland and England.
"We spoke with Belgium and I'm grateful [for their cooperation] because he didn't feel good. [I'm hopeful] he can recover for rest of the season," Guardiola said.
On Thursday, Belgium boss Dominic Tedesco confirmed the nature of De Bruyne's injury.
"He’s been playing with a minor groin issue during the last games," said Tedesco.
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"Yesterday I spoke to the doctor and Kevin and we decided that the risk is too big. It's better to give him time to recover well at City and then have him ready for the Euros."
De Bruyne missed five months of the season after tearing his hamstring during City's Premier League opener against Burnley back in August.
The midfielder returned to action in January, and since then has made 15 direct goal contributions in just 13 games.
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De Bruyne was substituted in the 69th minute of City's 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
While at the time there was no indication that he was injured, Guardiola said that De Bruyne felt the issue the following day.
It is unclear whether or not the star will be available for City's crunch clash with Arsenal on March 31.
Topics: Manchester City, FA Cup, Kevin De Bruyne, Injury, Newcastle United, Pep Guardiola, Belgium
Alex Brotherton