Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte to miss Man City Champions League clash

Both players missed training on Tuesday morning and neither was included in the squad list published by City ahead of their flight to Germany

Andy Hampson
Tuesday 21 February 2023 19:07 GMT
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Manchester City Pre Match Training Leipzig UCL

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Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte will miss Manchester City’s Champions League clash at RB Leipzig due to illness, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed.

Both players featured in Saturday’s game at Nottingham Forest but have reported feeling unwell in the days since.

Neither were present as Guardiola’s squad held an open training session on Tuesday morning and they did not travel to Germany for Wednesday’s last-16 first-leg encounter.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference at the Red Bull Arena, Guardiola said: “It is what it is.

“Sometimes during the season it happens. Kevin didn’t feel good right after the game in Nottingham on Sunday and yesterday Ayme didn’t feel good.

“Other players are going to play. It happens sometimes.”

Playmaker De Bruyne played 88 minutes in the frustrating 1-1 draw at the City Ground, with defender Laporte completing the full match.

They join centre-back John Stones on the sidelines as the England international continues to recover from a thigh injury.

Guardiola added he was unsure if either De Bruyne or Laporte would be available for Saturday’s game at Bournemouth.

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