Manchester City will be without last season's midfield orchestrator Kevin De Bruyne for between two and four months due to a knee ligament injury, but which player could your Premier League club least afford to be without?

Arsenal: Lucas Torreira

A touch premature given he is yet to start for a league game for Arsenal, but Torreira was bought to re-balance this team and address a long-term holding midfield problem. Unai Emery will rely on the defensive screen he provides to compensate for individual weaknesses in his back four. Were Torreira to get injured, they would be back to last season's midfield options minus Jack Wilshere and possibly Mohamed Elneny.

Arsenal finally have adequate cover for Hector Bellerin in Stephan Lichtsteiner, the centre backs are much of a muchness, while both goalkeepers are imperfect. Arsenal are always a better side with Mesut Ozil playing but could be re-structured in his absence to grind out results, and the same could be said of Aaron Ramsey. Arsenal's difference-maker this season could be Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but at least Alexandre Lacazette would fill in at centre-forward with Danny Welbeck and Eddie Nketiah in reserve. Torreira is their specialist.

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Bournemouth: Nathan Ake

Started 37 of Bournemouth's Premier League games last season, and brings youth and mobility to a defence that sometimes lacks both. Ake is also a multi-functional defender who can play as the left centre-back in a four or a three as well as at left-back. These players give you added squad depth and help clubs such as Bournemouth absorb injuries. Left-sided centre-backs are difficult to find, and Bournemouth have one of the best outside the top six in Ake.

Brighton: Lewis Dunk

An ever-present for Brighton during a successful first season in the Premier League, Dunk's partnership with Shane Duffy at centre-back is the foundation on which Chris Hughton's team is built. Pascal Gross was also a key figure with seven league goals - bettered only by Glenn Murray - but their summer signings offer greater attacking depth this season. Brighton's defensive back-ups are largely untried, by contrast.

Burnley: Johann Berg Gudmunds­son

With Robbie Brady sidelined with a long-term injury, Burnley are not replete with wingers which is a problem for a collection of forwards who thrive on crosses. Any injury to Gudmundsson would leave them short, and raises the prospect of Jon Walters in a wide midfield role, which looks blunter than airport terminal cutlery.

Cardiff City: Kenneth Zohore

In line to return against Newcastle on Saturday, Cardiff need their best striker fit and available if they are to stand the slightest chance of staying up. Scoring goals in the Premier League will be hard enough without him - defender Callum Paterson was their top Championship goalscorer with 10 which tells you plenty.

Chelsea: Eden Hazard

Cesar Azpilicueta brings assurance to an untried back four, Jorginho has first-hand knowledge of Maurizio Sarri's system while N'Golo Kante remains key. But you cannot look past Eden Hazard, particularly in a Chelsea team which looks light on goals.

Unless the penny drops with Alvaro Morata, Chelsea might need Hazard to reluctantly discover a selfish side in the final third. Sarri's Napoli team had a fluid and flexible forward line with Lorenzo Insigne, Marek Hamsik and Dries Mertens capable of chipping in with goals either alongside a centre forward or in the absence of one. Willian or Pedro are not going to get many, so Hazard may need to pick up the slack.

Crystal Palace: Wilfried Zaha

An open and shut case. Palace did not win a league game without him last season and he remains irreplaceable.

Everton: Idrissa Gueye

Marco Silva's team have still not come close to replacing Romelu Lukaku with a convincing striker, but Gueye is the only Everton midfielder with any ball-winning capability and capacity to cover ground. Everton have strengthened considerably in defence, but midfield still looks a problem. Any injury to Gueye would leave them looking slow and wide open in there.

Fulham: Aleksandar Mitrovic

Fulham have plenty of options after their summer spending, but Mitrovic remains the fulcrum of their attack. Much like France and Olivier Giroud, Fulham rely on the Serbian striker's physical presence and gravitational pull to attract defenders and create space for others. No other forward in their squad can offer the same.

Huddersfield Town: Aaron Mooy

A regular in David Wagner's midfield since Huddersfield's promotion season from the Championship, Mooy remains one of the first names on the teams heet. It is easy to forget that Huddersfield are still battling against the odds in their second season in the Premier League. Wagner still has a Championship squad at his disposal 15 months after promotion.

Leicester City: Jamie Vardy

Leicester's opening weekend defeat at Man Utd was a glimpse into a Jamie Vardy-less future under Claude Puel - plenty of possession and neatly constructed midfield patterns with little cutting edge. Vardy's importance to Leicester has only increased since the departure of Riyad Mahrez, those his productivity might suffer without his former partner in crime.

Liverpool: Virgil Van Dijk

There are no spare Mohamed Salahs or Naby Keitas knocking around at Melwood, but it is at the back where Jurgen Klopp relies most on individual quality. Liverpool have enough depth in midfield and forward options, especially after the arrival of Xherdan Shaqiri, to soldier on without one of their attacking stars. An injury to Virgil Van Dijk, or Alisson for that matter, could be more troubling. The Dutch defender has raised the level of Liverpool's other defenders who look so much more commanding and confident beside him.

Manchester City: Fernandinho

After losing De Bruyne, City could least afford another midfield injury. The champions tried and failed to buy an alternative to the 33-year-old Fernandinho in the No.6 position in Pep Guardiola's 4-4-3 (more like 2-3-2-3 in practice), with Jorginho moving to Chelsea. The loss of Fernandinho could mean John Stones stepping into an unfamiliar midfield role from centre-back or Ilkay Gundogan moving back - a player with few defensive instincts.

Manchester United: Paul Pogba

David De Gea has been United's most important player for several seasons, but they do have Sergio Romero in reserve who is a perfectly serviceable goalkeeper. Pogba on the other hand, is one of the only midfield players in the squad capable of progressing the ball upfield swiftly with his range of passing. Fred is perhaps the other.

United's strength is their collection of dynamic forwards, but without a technical base to supply them quickly they can be left looking mechanical and blunt - a problem we have seen far too often. Without Pogba on the pitch against Leicester, United may well have lost.

Newcastle United: Jonjo Shelvey

Rafael Benitez is a good enough defensive coach to compensate for the loss of any one defender, while Soloman Rondon brings a little more punch this season up top. Newcastle remain heavily reliant on Jonjo Shelvey for guile and creativity, and everything good they do in possession tends to flow through him.

Southampton: Ryan Bertrand

Oriol Romeu and Mario Lemina are other key players, but midfield is Southampton's strongest department. There is very little in reserve should they lose Ryan Bertrand however, with Matt Targett the likeliest back-up left-back. Bertrand is one of Southampton's more potent attacking threats and they have done well to keep him away from the clutches of the Big Six.

Tottenham Hotspur: Christian Eriksen

Why not Harry Kane? Because Spurs have coped without him for several weeks in past seasons when he has rolled his ankle, and there are other sources of goals via Dele Alli, Heung-min Son and Christian Eriksen.

Spurs would struggle to function without Eriksen, who is the one source of creative genius in a team that is built on structure and repetition. Eriksen is the metronome who sets the rhythm to Tottenham's play, and they simply could not live without him. Kane is the output, Eriksen is the process.

A quick thought experiment. All things being equal, Spurs have 10 games without Kane but with Eriksen and 10 with Kane but without Eriksen - in which set of games do they score the most goals? This author wagers the former.

Watford: Abdoulaye Doucoure

Seven goals and three assists in the league last season, Doucoure is now the star attraction at Vicarage Road following the loss of Richarlison.

West Ham: Marko Arnautovic

It is difficult to decipher West Ham's patchwork squad after another busy summer and to evaluate who Manuel Pellegrini will favour. Arnautovic's 11 goals were vital oxygen for West Ham last season though, and despite the arrival of Andriy Yarmolenko and Lucas Perez he will be key again.

Wolves: Ruben Neves

The jewel in a Jorge Mendes-assembled crown, Neves' set-piece delivery and goals from range elevate Wolves to another level when he is on the pitch. Played in the Champions League for Porto as a teenager and is ready to show his class in the top flight this season.