Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is set to make his comeback against Burnley on Oct. 20 after the club decided it would be too big a risk to play him at Liverpool on Sunday, sources have told ESPN FC.
Belgium international De Bruyne has made a quick recovery from a knee ligament injury and returned to first-team training on Monday.
The 27-year-old has been left out of the Belgium squad for the Nations League clash with Switzerland in Brussels on Oct. 12 and the friendly against Netherlands four days later.
He will stay in Manchester, working at City’s Etihad Campus to get up to full fitness in time for the game at Burnley.
De Bruyne suffered lateral knee ligament damage in training in August, and although it was initially feared he would be out for three months he was back in training 54 days later.
City boss Pep Guardiola had refused to rule out a shock comeback for the trip to Anfield, but sources told ESPN FC the club decided that would have been an unnecessary gamble.