LONDON, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola on Friday blamed the lack of a proper pre-season in the wake of this summer's World Cup finals as the reason for long term injuries suffered by Belgian winger, Kevin de Bruyne and Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
De Bruyne will miss around 3 months after damaging knee ligaments in training a week ago, while Bravo could be sidelined for the entire season after rupturing his Achilles tendon earlier this week.
Although his side have kicked off the season with an impressive 2-0 win away to Arsenal and a 6-1 thrashing of Huddersfield, speaking to the press on Friday, Guardiola insisted his players were feeling the effects of a shorter than usual pre-season.
"The problem is that while we are not far away, we are still not fit," said the Manchester City coach.
"We see how much the players spend for regeneration after the game. Normally it's quicker - one or two days; now they need more time. It's because we didn't have a pre-season. When we arrived almost immediately after three or four days, we played the Community Shield and then Arsenal."
"Some players need much more time to gain power and strength. The players complain about muscular problems - that's why Claudio (Bravo) is out, Kevin (De Bruyne)... This week Fernandinho had problems with regeneration after the game," he continued.
"We demand a lot and we are still not in the best condition," continued the coach, who expects his players to be at their best "after the international break."
Guardiola also confirmed that Swiss goalkeeper, Aro Muric, who has been recalled from loan at NAC Breda will now be second choice keeper behind Ederson. Enditem
