Premier League: Kevin de Bruyne and Jamie Vardy set to miss time out on the sidelines

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed that star playmaker Kevin De Bruyne will be out for four to six weeks due to a hamstring injury.

De Bruyne picked up the injury in Wednesday’s 2-0 home win over Aston Villa and is set to miss City’s key Premier League fixtures against Liverpool, Tottenham, and, in all likelihood, Arsenal next month.

City’s defender Kyle Walker would also miss Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at League Two Cheltenham after picking up a problem in Wednesday’s league win according to Guardiola.

“Kyle had a big impact kick in his hips, but just a kick, so is not available tomorrow but we wish he is available for the next game,” said the City boss.

“Kevin, the doctor had to review the scan this morning, and he will be out between four and six weeks.”

Should De Bruyne’s recovery take the full six weeks, he will miss at least nine matches for City, including their Champions League last-16 first leg against German side Borussia Monchengladbach.

The Belgian international would be pushing to return for the Manchester derby on March 6, as City are second in the league, two points behind rivals Manchester United with a game in hand.

“We have to move forward,” said Guardiola.

“I’m not saying that nobody doesn’t know about his importance.

“Unfortunately for him and us, he’ll be out for an important part of the season, and we have to find a solution because everyone’s struggling in this situation, and we have to adapt.

“The players don’t want to get injured, but they are human. Why in the FA Cup can we use five subs but in the league not? It is a different competition. Is it a special one? It’s not just because it’s Kevin. It is everyone for the past five seasons. It is too many games that recovery timeline.”

Leicester City’s forward Jamie Vardy to undergo surgery

Jamie Vardy will undergo surgery on a persistent hip problem and will be out for “a few weeks”, according to Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers.

The 34-year-old has managed 11 goals for the Foxes in the Premier League this term but will now be forced to the sidelines for a number of games after undergoing a minor hernia operation.

“Jamie Vardy will be out for a few weeks,” Rodgers said.

“As you know, we’ve been managing him over this last number of months, and he’s been absolutely fantastic.

“We have a window now that allows him to have a minor operation on his hernia and then he’ll be back within a few weeks. He’ll be out for that period.

“It’s one that doesn’t keep him out for too long, but it’s just a repair in and round that hernia area. It’s one we feel he can’t really put it off much longer.

“We were hoping to do it a few weeks back, but this is a window where we can get it done and that will obviously leave him with a good part of the season where he can be really influential for us.”

Vardy has started 15 out of 18 Premier League games for Leicester this season and is set to miss Leicester’s next Premier League opponents which may include Everton, Leeds, Fulham, Wolves, Liverpool and Aston Villa, while they will take on Slavia Prague in the Europa League round of 32 in February.