Manchester City’s ambitions of becoming the first team to retain the Premier League title in a decade are under serious threat after midfield lynchpin Kevin De Bruyne suffered a knee injury that is reportedly going sideline him for three months.

“Kevin De Bruyne is undergoing tests on his right knee after sustaining an injury at training on Wednesday,” the club stated.

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“The extent of the problem is not yet known and we will bring you further updates on Kevin’s condition in due course.”

And while the Citizens will officially reveal the extent of the damage by the weekend, it’s being reported that the Belgian midfielder is set to be out of action till October end at least.

Considering the depth of the squad at City, especially in midfield, Pep Guardiola’s men should be able to cope but the the 27-year-old is arguably the best midfielder in the Premier League and his absence will be felt, especially in  the big games.

City did overcome their first two tests of the season without him, however, leaving many to claim that their juggernaut will roll on.

De Bruyne, who did train on Wednesday in the gym, was later seen at the launch event of the Amazon Prime documentary, All or Nothing: Manchester City, in crutches with his afflicted knee in a protective brace.

Notably, the last time he suffered a major injury was in 2015 and that time too, he was out of action for a while with a knee complaint.

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The Citizens beat Chelsea 2-0 at a canter in the Community Shield with KDB on the bench before following it up with an impressive 2-0 away win at Arsenal to open their 2018/19 Premier League campaign.

Currently, City are in fifth place after one round of the Premier League.

Liverpool, touted as the team most likely to run City close, are topping the table by virtue of their 4-0 win over West Ham United.

Guardiola’s men next host Huddersfield Town on Saturday (1800 IST) and De Bruyne is certain to miss out from the home clash against the Terriers.

In his absence, the onus will be on the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and David Silva to provide the creative spark in midfield.