Pep Guardiola issues worrying Kevin De Bruyne injury update as Liverpool watch on

Pep Guardiola has admitted he's still in the dark about when Kevin De Bruyne will make his Manchester City return, despite the initial 'minor' injury label. It's been five weeks since De Bruyne suffered a thigh issue during the Champions League game against Inter, and while he's back training with the team, he's not ready to play just yet.

Liverpool will host City at Anfield in just five weeks on December 1 and it remains to be seen whether the Belgian will be fully fit by then. De Bruyne has missed six games so far and is expected to sit out the upcoming clash with Sparta Prague too.

Guardiola emphasised the need for De Bruyne to feel fully comfortable before stepping back onto the pitch, acknowledging that at 33, he needs to be completely fit to perform at his best. "It's not a big issue but he doesn't feel completely fine and Kevin is not 22 years old anymore," Guardiola explained.

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"He has to be fit completely for his football. He has to be completely comfortable or he cannot express his potential."

Meanwhile, there is no update on Kyle Walker's condition following his return from England duty with a knee injury. After missing the recent match against Wolves last weekend, he is likely to be absent for the European fixture as well.

When questioned about the potential length of the absence, the manager replied: "I don't know."

As for the Reds, Diogo Jota will miss the Champions League clash with RB Leipzig after a collision with Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo on Sunday. The Portugal international was replaced by Darwin Nunez and consequently missed the open training session at the AXA Training Ground this week.

In addition, Federico Chiesa remains sidelined, having missed wins over Bologna, Crystal Palace and Chelsea. Conor Bradley is still nursing an injury of his own and is expected to miss a few weeks of action.

Harvey Elliott is still nursing a broken foot he sustained in September while Alisson Becker is a longer-term absentee with a hamstring problem. Despite concerns over Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alexis Mac Allister after the win over Chelsea, both players trained on Tuesday ahead of the European clash on Wednesday night.