The shock reason that Kevin De Bruyne was excluded from Pep Guardiola's starting XI for Manchester City's enthralling 3-3 draw with Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League this week has reportedly been revealed.
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Neutrals were treated to an end-to-end match-up on Tuesday, when Los Blancos and the Citizens collided in Europe's premier club competition for the third season in a row, but there was a key player missing from a City perspective in De Bruyne.
Despite managing to get four goals and provide 13 assists in all competitions since returning from a long-term hamstring injury at the beginning of 2024, the Belgian playmaker was named on Guardiola's bench for the match.
Prior to the game's commencement, the Spaniard revealed that the 32-year-old had started vomiting upon the team's arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu, but now the Daily Star reports that the reason De Bruyne fell ill is because of food poisoning he had contracted at the team hotel before leaving for the match.
The same report claims that the club was worried multiple players would also succumb to the same fate as the Drongen native, a situation which would have put their aspirations of attaining a positive result in the Spanish capital at jeopardy considering that the likes of Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake were out through injury too.
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The attacking midfielder's illness was an isolated incident, however, and he is back in full training with the team ahead of their next Premier League encounter against Luton Town on Saturday.
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