Kevin De Bruyne Benjamin Mendy Man City

Boost for Man City as Guardiola expects De Bruyne & Mendy back after international break

Pep Guardiola has revealed that he expects both Kevin De Bruyne and Benjamin Mendy to be ready to return for Manchester City after the upcoming international break.

Both players have seen their 2018-19 campaign heavily disrupted by injury problems, with De Bruyne having made 14 Premier League appearances and Mendy having featured just eight times in the league.

The latest set-back saw De Bruyne suffer a hamstring injury in City's 1-0 win over Bournemouth, with Guardiola initially having feared that he would be out for "a while".

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Mendy, meanwhile, was originally sidelined with a knee injury for two months back in November.

He did return as a second-half substitute in the Carabao Cup semi-final win over Burton Albion on January 23 but has not featured for City since then.

The French World Cup winner's lack of game-time continues to be a source of frustration for Guardiola, with the 24-year-old facing a crucial couple of months in a bid to convince his manager of his worth.

Injuries have restricted Mendy to just 18 appearances in all competitions since signing from Monaco in 2017, with a cruciate knee ligament injury suffered in September of that year severely hampering his debut campaign at the club.

Guardiola has given a positive update on both players, however, tipping them to return after the forthcoming international break.

Regarding De Bruyne, he told reporters: "It happened. The first injury was knees. When you are long-term absent due to knee problems it sometimes influences the hamstring.

"He doesn't feel quite well right now, not 100%. Doctors and Kevin tell me after international break he will be ready.

"I think before the Bournemouth injury, he was reaching a high level. Kevin knows he needs games, but he always creates something for the team. The important thing is he will be back.

"Mendy will hopefully be fit after the international break, too."

Next up for City is a meeting with Swansea in the FA Cup quarter-final, as Guardiola's side continue their quadruple pursuit.

Having already wrapped up the Carabao Cup, City lead Liverpool by one point in the Premier League title race, while they've got a Champions League quarter-final against Tottenham to look forward to as well.

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