Kevin De Bruyne has an outside chance of being available for Manchester City’s league meeting with Everton on Saturday, with his injured hamstring healing quicker than expected. The Belgian forward will undergo a late fitness test ahead of the visit of Ronald Koeman’s side to the Etihad Stadium and he could also be fit for the trip to Barcelona on Wednesday next week for City’s third Champions League group match of the season. De Bruyne’s recovery is so encouraging that he was able to take a break last weekend in Marbella. The Belgian, 25, sustained the injury towards the end of City’s 3-1 victory at Swansea City on 24 September, with Pep Guardiola hailing the player as second in class only to Lionel Messi. Guardiola is determined that City bounce back from that reverse when they host Everton at the weekend, with his side’s lead in the Premier League having been cut to one point from Tottenham and two from Arsenal and Liverpool.

Source: The Guardian October 11, 2016 15:11 UTC