KEVIN DE BRUYNE has been benched for Manchester City’s clash with Real Madrid tonight.
De Bruyne is unwell and will only be fit to play a role as a substitute.
In his pre-match interview, City boss Pep Guardiola confirmed that the 32-year-old has been vomitting.
But it was somewhat of an awkward interview with TNT presenter Jules Breach, who misheard what the Spaniard said at first.
Phil Foden has been restored to the starting line-up after being rested for the 4-2 victory against Crystal Palace.
The two midfielders had been rotating in the XI, with De Bruyne playing City’s last game against Palace.
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The midfielder shone in a man-of-the-match performance, scoring twice.
That came after Foden put in his own stunning performance mid-week against Aston Villa, scoring a hat-trick with De Bruyne being consigned to the bench.
De Bruyne missed the early part of this season with a hamstring injury which had been plaguing him since the Champions League final last season.
He returned in the New Year and has been eased back into the City first-team, largely sharing his minutes with Foden.
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De Bruyne was named City captain last summer after Ilkay Gundogan left the club.
But his long-term absence saw him pass the responsibility along to Kyle Walker.
City play Real Madrid at 8pm tonight in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
The club are still looking to put together a never-done-before back-to-back treble.
In an unprecedented move, Real Madrid have opted to close the Bernabeu roof in a bid to create a hostile atmosphere at their iconic stadium.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
