Kevin De Bruyne’s 4-Month Injury Lay Off Could Spell Trouble for Erling Haaland

• Pep Guardiola recently confirmed Kevin de Bruyne would be out “for a long time”
• The Belgian may need surgery on his hamstring, something that could keep him out until December
• He pulled his hamstring on Premier League opening day when Manchester City came up against Burnley

Kevin De Bruyne’s injury setback could mean trouble for Erling Haaland, if an interesting stat is anything to go by.

The Belgian, 32, pulled up during Manchester City’s game against Burnley on Friday, August 11, and his hamstring injury is worse than initially feared.

Pep Guardiola confirmed what many Manchester City fans were worried about, as he provided an update on Tuesday, ahead of Manchester City’s Uefa Super Cup game against Sevilla.

"We have to decide [on] his surgery. We will decide in the next days. Surgery is surgery, three or four months out. Guardiola said, as quoted on BBC Sport.

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"The injury to Kevin is a blow, a big loss. He has specific qualities. For a long time is really tough for us. We have to look forward. We have alternatives.

"Kevin is irreplaceable, but we have talented players. They will take it."

What it means for Haaland

The injury to De Bruyne will have a lot of implications and subplots, and arguably no one will miss the Belgian more than Erling Haaland.

This is because of the simple fact that Haaland was the biggest beneficiary of De Bruyne’s prowess in the 2022/23 season.

According to stats on The Sun, Haaland and De Bruyne were the most prolific Premier League duo in the league last season.

The Norwegian bagged an impressive 36 league goals last season, and De Bruyne was responsible for eight of those goals through direct assists.

In his first game of the season, Haaland got two goals, but De Bruyne was not involved directly in either of the strikes as Julian Alvarez and Rodri got the assists.

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Real Madrid could move for Haaland

SportsBrief also reported on Real Madrid’s possible interest in Haaland as an alternative for Kylian Mbappe.

Real Madrid have courted Mbappe for two consecutive summers and the 24-year-old has declined their offer by deciding to remain with the Parisians.

The Spanish giants are willing to wait until 2024 for Mbappe, when he will become a free agent when his contract with PSG expires, although the Parisians are confident the forward will extend his contract before then.