Manchester City have handed a major boost after discovering Kevin De Bruyne's injury is not as bad as first feared.
The midfielder suffered an injury to his right knee during a training session on Wednesday and was pictured on crutches that night at the premiere of City's 'All or Nothing' documentary.
De Bruyne flew to Barcelona on Thursday to be assessed by Ramon Cugat, the doctor highly regarded by Pep Guardiola.
And it is understood that the Belgian was informed he will NOT have to undergo surgery.
De Bruyne is still facing around two months on the sidelines, but City had initially feared he would be out for double that amount of time.
The matches Kevin De Bruyne could miss
August 19 - Huddersfield (home)
August 25 - Wolves (away)
September 1 - Newcastle (home)
September 15 - Fulham (home)
September 18/19 - Champions League group stage (TBC)
September 22 - Cardiff (away)
September 29 - Brighton (home)
October 2/3 - Champions League group stage (TBC)
October 7 - Liverpool (away)
De Bruyne was City's best player last season as they stormed to the Premier League title, featuring in all but one of their matches.
Having helped Belgium to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, De Bruyne only returned to training with City at the start of last week.
He was named on the bench for the opening game of the season, against Arsenal on Sunday, and played the final 30 minutes of the 2-0 win.
He is now set to miss a number of games, including the crunch clash with title rivals Liverpool at Anfield in early October.
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