Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has said there are no plans to recruit a replacement for star midfielder Kevin de Bruyne before the January transfer window closes, despite the news that the right midfielder will be out for eight to 10 weeks.
The Belgian international was carried off on a stretcher after tearing ankle and knee ligaments late in Citys 3-1 League Cup second-leg win over Everton at the Etihad Stadium on 27 January.
As well as the Capitol One Cup final against Liverpool, he will miss both legs of Citys Champions League last-16 tie against Dynamo Kiev and will be doubtful for the quarter-finals in April if they qualify.
Yet Pellegrini said the club would not be dipping into the transfer market and would use existing squad members in de Bruynes absence.
It is not our intention to bring in anyone, he said. I have said before this one that we have a squad. The squad is doing very well so far. And I am repeating in some moment that we could not play with (David) Silva, with (Sergio) Aguero, now we are going to play without Kevin but I continue trusting in my squad and I am sure that we will continue being a competitive team.
Pellegrini was asked about the possibility of winning four trophies this season as the club is still competing in the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League competitions, starting with their FA Cup fourth round tie at Aston Villa on 30 January.
I just said it is very important for us to be focusing game by game, Pellegrini said. It is very difficult to play so many games. It is not a target that we have in mind at this moment because it is not a realistic target. The only thing that you must demonstrate when you play every competition you are continuing to be involved in that competition. We have to play tomorrow against Aston Villa. If we fail tomorrow it finishes what we are talking about so it is important to demonstrate with performance in the moment that we are so far.
