How much will Man City miss injured De Bruyne? Who can replace him?

The news that Kevin de Bruyne will miss the next three months of the season with a serious knee ligament injury comes as a blow to Manchester City.

The Belgium international midfielder, who suffered the injury in training on Wednesday, is obviously a considerable influence in Pep Guardiola's side and seems to improve with every passing game.

Since De Bruyne returned to the Premier League from Wolfsburg in August 2015, no player has supplied more assists in the English top-flight.

His 43 league assists in his three-and-a-bit seasons at the Etihad Stadium is some way ahead of the next highest - Tottenham's Christian Eriksen with 37.

De Bruyne is the third-highest in the ranking of Premier League chance creators in that time, his tally of 291 behind only Eriksen's 321 and the 320 of Arsenal's Mesut Ozil.

His passing stats in advanced areas are also excellent - since joining City, De Bruyne has completed 2,260 successful passes in the final third, putting him second only to Ozil with 2,708.

The Belgian has made 3,475 successful passes in the opposition half as well, which ranks him fifth among Premier League players in that time. His team-mates Fernandinho and David Silva come higher, however.

And De bruyne's goalscoring record also stands up to scrutiny. He has scored 21 league goals in the last three seasons, making him the sixth-highest midfield scorer in that time.

When the stats are combined, it builds an image of a player with astonishing creative powers and a constant handful for even the best defences.

But will such a powerhouse as City suffer in his absence?

Since his debut for the club on September 12, 2015, De Bruyne has started 91 matches in the Premier League of which City have won 59, drawn 21 and lost 11 with a win percentage of 64.8 and a goal average of 2.3 per game.

However, in the 20 matches during that time when De Bruyne hasn't started, their win percentage drops slightly to 60 per cent and their average goals falls to 1.8.

The stats also suggest there are minor reductions in the number of shots they fire off, the amount of possession they enjoy and the number of crosses they attempt.

So while it's clear losing De Bruyne does impact City to an extent, it probably won't be enough to throw them off course in the early weeks of the season.

Their commanding wins over Chelsea in the Community Shield and Arsenal in their Premier League opener suggest City still have their appetite for success.

De Bruyne is likely to miss a dozen Premier League games, including clashes against their main title rivals Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United, as well as their first four Champions League group matches.

Among the candidates to take De Bruyne's spot in the team are Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Phil Foden.

Bernardo Silva scored a well-taken goal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday and the Portuguese looks likely to enjoy a more prominent role in the early part of the season having been in and out of the team last term.

He started 15 matches in the Premier League in 2017-18 and came off the bench 20 times, appearing with greater regularity in the Champions League.

Gundogan, having recovered from a long-term injury, was also used sparingly in the Premier League last season, appearing more in the cup competitions.

His role is usually a little further back in the midfield and he wouldn't offer the same creative spark that De Bruyne provides.

David Silva would be able to supply those defence-splitting passes and create chances, but hasn't yet featured this season but did feature prominently in the Premier League last term, often as captain.

Many City fans would like to see more of the prodigiously talented 18-year-old academy graduate Foden, who impressed in the Community Shield.

He made enough appearances last season to earn a Premier League winner's medal and is highly-rated by Guardiola, but it remains to be seen whether he is quite ready for the cut and thrust of the league on a weekly basis.