Manchester City have confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne will miss around three months after picking up a knee ligament injury in training.
However, the club also revealed that the midfielder will not require surgery on the injury, meaning that it is less serious than first feared.
Initial projections had many tipping De Bruyne to miss at least the remainder of 2018 with the injury, but the Belgium international is now expected to return from the lateral collateral ligament damage in mid-November.
De Bruyne registered 21 assists across all competitions last season, in addition to scoring 12 times himself as City won the Premier League and EFL Cup double.