Man City star Kevin De Bruyne out for three months

Manchester City have confirmed star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne will be sidelined for around three months with the knee injury he picked up in training earlier this week.

City, 4-6 favourites to retain the Premier League title, have a favourable run of fixtures on the horizon with Huddersfield, Wolves, Newcastle, Fulham and Cardiff to come before October.

However, things then get tougher with trips to Tottenham and Liverpool and there is the small matter of a home Manchester derby against United on November 11.

Ante-post favourite De Bruyne has been pushed out to 20-1 to win the PFA Player of the Year, while Ladbrokes cut Liverpool from 7-2 to 3-1 to claim the Premier League title. The Reds are still 100-30 in places.

“He will be a big miss,” City boss Pep Guardiola told the club’s official website.

“Last season, De Bruyne was outstanding. For him, his family and for us, it is hard – you never want a long injury but we have to accept it.

“It’s not easy to replace Kevin but we are going to do our best. We are not happy – it happens every season like with Ilkay Gundogan a few years ago and Benjamin Mendy last season.”

Cristiano Ronaldo will make his eagerly-anticipated Juventus debut on Saturday away to Chievo and is 8-11 with Coral and Ladbrokes to mark the occasion with a goal.

Ronaldo is 16-5 with Betway to grab the opener and Hills are 12-1 he scores a hat-trick with the game being broadcast on the digital subscription service providers Eleven Sports and via their Facebook platform. They will join the 5pm kick-off after 15 minutes due to the Saturday blackout rule.

The Portuguese phenomenon is trading at 8-11 with Betfred to finish the Serie A season as the top marksman in Italy, while bet365’s over/under line for Ronaldo is set at 29.5.

Bet365 are also offering a seasonal match bet based on goals scored in their leagues this season with Ronaldo 11-4 to trump Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, who is available at 1-4.

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