Pep Guardiola admits Kevin De Bruyne is not ’100 per cent’ as Man City boss explains leaving midfielder out of Brentford clash

The Belgian international sat out City's 1-0 win over Brentford on Tuesday as the 32-year-old had some niggles. Ahead of Saturday's trip to Bournemouth, Guardiola revealed De Bruyne "did not feel comfortable" playing against the Bees, but he is very likely to be in the squad for the clash against the Cherries.

The Spaniard told reporters on Friday: “He’s [De Bruyne] good - not injured. He’s better. I don’t know if he is 100 per cent but we took a good decision to not take a risk, apart from the result, if the result was not good, people would ask why he didn’t play. He didn’t feel comfortable.

"We have training at 4pm [Friday]. The day after the game he didn’t train and yesterday everyone was off, but he trained by himself. Today [Friday] we will assess. I am sure he will travel.”

City are still in the hunt for a second-straight treble (Champions League, FA Cup, Premier League) despite appearing to be at a lower level to where they were at this point last season. For much of the campaign they have been without the influential midfielder due to injury but when he is fit he makes a huge difference. Therefore, managing his minutes is key.

After City take on Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth this weekend, Guardiola's side travel to Luton Town in round five of the FA Cup on Tuesday. They then host rivals Manchester United on March 3 in the Premier League.