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MANCHESTER, England — Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne is ready to make his comeback in Manchester City’s clash with Burnley on Saturday.
The Belgium international has been out with a knee ligament injury since August but has been back in first-team training for the past two weeks.
Guardiola decided not to risk De Bruyne, 27, for the game against Liverpool before the international break but has confirmed he will be in the squad to face Burnley, although he may not play a full 90 minutes.
“I don’t know if he is able to play for 90 minutes but he has trained really well for the last two weeks and has no pain, so he is ready to be part of the group again,” Guardiola told a news conference. “He is an important player for us. Every player that is out and comes back makes us stronger.”
Meanwhile, Guardiola has said that former City winger Jadon Sancho is unlikely to make a return to the club following his England debut against Croatia on Oct. 12.
Sancho, 18, left City for Borussia Dortmund last summer in search of game time and has registered more assists than any other player in Europe this season.
If Dortmund decide to sell the player, City have first refusal to match any bid made but Guardiola doesn’t see the winger, who has been linked with £100 million moves, returning soon.
“I don’t know, in football you never say no, but I don’t know,” the City boss said.
“I think when he decided to move on from here it is because he doesn’t want to be here.
“When he doesn’t want to be here I think he’s not looking forward to coming back here. That is what I think right now. Maybe in the future — new club, new managers — but I don’t know.”
A number of young players have been linked with potential moves to the Bundesliga with highly-rated City youngsters Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz seen as potential targets. But Guardiola says he is not concerned about interest from German clubs despite the early success of Sancho.
“English players look at Spanish players and Spanish clubs look at Italian and English players, there is an age when you cannot control them and that can happen,” he added.
“We know what we have done with Jadon. We did absolutely everything and he decided to move on to Germany so all the best, he’s doing really well.
“He’s started his career and hopefully he can achieve what he was looking for. It’s a good sign for England that players are going there because it’s important for the future. I’m glad he’s playing well.”
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