Belgium Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was the most notable absentee for Manchester City’s UEFA Super Cup clash with Sevilla after being sidelined by a hamstring injury.
De Bruyne limped off from Friday night’s 3-0 Premier League win at promoted Burnley with a recurrence of the problem that forced his early exit from last year’s UEFA Champions League final, and City boss Pep Guardiola later revealed the 32-year-old Belgium international would be sidelined for ” several weeks”.
The club has yet to provide an update on the severity of the injury, but the midfielder’s name was conspicuous by his absence from the 22-man squad list for Wednesday’s game in Athens when it was published on City’s official website on Monday afternoon.
De Bruyne has been one of City’s key players since his £ 55 million arrival from Wolfsburg in August 2015 and is widely regarded as one of the most respected midfielders in world football.
There was also no place for midfielder Bernardo Silva, the only other member of the Burnley squad not included in the match, nor for centre-back Ruben Dias, who missed the league opener due to concussion protocols.
Kalvin Phillips and Jack Grealish, who were unused substitutes at Turf Moor, did just that, as did the versatile John Stones, who sat out through injury on Friday night.
Squad (in numerical order): Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Mateo Kovacic, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Aymeric Laporte, Rodrigo, Stefan Ortega Moreno, Julian Alvarez, Sergio Gomez, Josko Guardiol, Manuel Akanji, Ederson, Maximo Perrone, Scott Carson, Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb, Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis, James McAtee.