Manchester City were dealt a significant blow on Wednesday after Kevin De Bruyne suffered a serious knee injury in training.
Sportsmail understands there are fears De Bruyne has torn a lateral ligament in his right knee and City are worried their playmaker could miss up to three months.
The 27-year-old will undergo further tests to examine the extent of the damage but the news comes as a bitter pill for Pep Guardiola.
Kevin De Bruyne was pictured in the gym on Wednesday morning but was injured later in day

De Bruyne participated in a weights session as he continued to get back to full fitness
De Bruyne was pictured in the gym during a morning session as he worked out with his team-mates using weights and could be seen working on his leg strength.
But he sustained a serious injury during an afternoon session once Manchester City had taken to the field.
Man City have released a statement confirming De Bruyne will undergo further tests.
‘Kevin De Bruyne is undergoing tests on his right knee after sustaining an injury at training on Wednesday,’ it read.
‘The extent of the problem is not yet known and we will bring you further updates on Kevin’s condition in due course.’

He returned later than most to the squad following Belgium’s run to third place at World Cup

De Bruyne suffered a similar injury when twisting his knee against Everton in 2016

He had to be stretchered off and missed nine weeks, but it’s feared it could be worse this time
The injury is similar to that sustained in 2016 when De Bruyne missed nine weeks after twisting awkwardly when challenging Everton’s Ramiro Funes Mori.
In that game – a League Cup semi-final – De Bruyne was stretched off in injury time, with the then Everton goalkeeper Joel Robles forced to apologise after the game as he tried to pull the Belgian up, believing he was just wasting time.
Guardiola failed to land a midfielder this summer and last week saw Douglas Luiz have a work permit application rejected.
City do, however, possess other options. Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan can all operate further forward in their midfield three.

De Bruyne came off the bench against Arsenal as he continued return following World Cup

De Bruyne got 30 minutes under his belt and picked up a yellow card during the victory
De Bruyne – who is part of City’s five-man senior player committee – had explained to the BBC earlier in the day how he has matured under Guardiola.
‘I have grown into it, being a leader,’ he said. ‘When I came here I was not the player that I am now, I did not have the same view. I came from Germany, I didn’t succeed before in England (with Chelsea).
‘When you do well, you train hard, you work hard, you get more leadership on the field. I try to do everything in my power to win the game. I am more relaxed than Vinny (Kompany) but I try to do everything to win.’
He had just been getting back to full fitness following his late return to the squad in the wake of Belgium’s run to third place at the World Cup.
The 27-year-old came off the bench with 30 minutes to go at the Emirates on Sunday as his City side dispatched Arsenal with a comfortable 2-0 win.