Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has been ruled out of this week's EFL Cup tie with Manchester United at Old Trafford after failing to recover from a knock that he suffered during Sunday's Premier League draw with Southampton.
"Kevin, no way, he cannot play," manager Pep Guardiola said as he faced the media ahead of Wednesday night's game - the second Manchester derby of the season.
After an outstanding individual start to the campaign, which included the league derby win at Old Trafford last month, De Bruyne has already missed several weeks of the season because of a hamstring injury.
Pep: Kevin has a knock and he cannot play. Pablo I think cannot. Vincent I think he can but I need to see training and regeneration. #mcfc
City struggled without him and have been unable to find their flow while he's been trying to regain full match fitness since returning to action. The knock to the calf is another setback, although he is expected to line up at the weekend for the league clash with West Brom.
Guardiola's other injury headache for Wednesday will be at right-back, where Pablo Zabaleta is a major doubt with a foot problem and Bacary Sagna was already missing as a result of hamstring trouble.
That could mean a repeat of the back-three that the manager employed against Southampton or a slight reshuffle that sees either John Stones or Nicolas Otamendi pushed to the right of a four.
Any chance of a reshuffle could depend on whether Vincent Kompany is passed fit or not. He too is struggling after Sunday, but Guardiola remains confident the captain will be okay after assessment.
Despite plans for some general rotation, Guardiola is unlikely to add young players, like right-back Pablo Maffeo, to the mix in light of the recent run of five games without a win.
"We didn't win in five - young players need to play in a good environment. You have to protect them. We have other options," he explained.
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