**Manchester City are continuing to await Kevin De Bruyne reaching full match fitness, as the Belgian remains on the bench for Pep Guardiola during recent selections.**
The 33-year-old has endured a complex season to date having started the brand new campaign in full fitness and with an expectation of a much bigger role within Pep Guardiola’s side than that of the last season.
Having returned to full match fitness following hamstring surgery last summer, De Bruyne was thrust right back into Guardiola’s first-team picture but sustained somewhat of a mysterious abdomen and groin problem during contests against Brentford and Inter Milan.
Whilst the injury itself was not deemed to be serious, it took almost 10 weeks for De Bruyne to overcome a sharp muscular pain when striking the ball with any force, and as such remains under close monitoring from Manchester City medical staff.
Despite featuring in many of Manchester City’s recent matchday squads and most often coming into contests off the bench, Kevin De Bruyne is yet to be named in any of Pep Guardiola’s starting line-ups in a reflection of his unknown fitness situation.
And according to the [information of Manchester City insider ‘FPLMaineRoad’ on X](https://x.com/FPLMaineRoad/status/1863556886806532394), De Bruyne remains ‘not match fit’ at present, which is likely to be the explanation behind his continued position on the substitutes bench.
It is [further reported](https://x.com/FPLMaineRoad/status/1863556886806532394) that the 33-year-old has an issue with a pelvic bone, and as such every time he features for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, it delays the recovery process towards full fitness.
Manager Pep Guardiola was asked for the latest on De Bruyne’s fitness and injury situation during a recent press conference looking ahead to Manchester City’s next Premier League outing against Nottingham Forest this week.
“He is closer and even, even better,” the Manchester City manager told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.
“The last few days he’s even better,” he continued, whilst it remains unknown what sort of involvement De Bruyne could have for his side this week, having continued to train as normal following the weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.
After the clash against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side at the Etihad Stadium, it will be right back to away trips in the top-flight as City take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.