Kevin De Bruyne ready to return for Manchester City after two serious knee injuries

De Bruyne does not know whether the lay-off will keep him fresh during the second half of the campaign but feels well rested

Kevin De Bruyne is unsure whether his long injury lay-off will keep him fresh during the second half of Manchester City’s season but believes he had enough rest during the summer.

De Bruyne has made just five appearances for City this season after suffering two separate knee ligament injuries – one in each knee – since August.

The Belgian returned at the weekend, making a 15-minute cameo in the 3-1 victory over Everton, and is expected to play in Tuesday’s EFL Cup quarter-final at Leicester City.

Pep Guardiola, the City manager, said last week that De Bruyne had ended a gruelling 2017-18 campaign “exhausted” after reaching the World Cup semi-finals with Belgium.

In total, De Bruyne clocked up some 5,448 minutes on the pitch between the start of last season and the end of Belgium’s run in Russia.

Guardiola therefore suggested that the enforced spell on the sidelines may have done De Bruyne some good, though the player himself had his doubts on that.

“Maybe, but I’m not sure I agree with that,” De Bruyne said. “I played the most of anyone last year, in the whole world. And I played the World Cup without a problem.

“I think the most important thing is having a summer break. If you have that you can feel OK but there is always a time in someone’s career where you feel a bit less.

“But I felt all right, it was just a shame that when I came back after one week I was out for two-and-a-half months.

“I was happy to come back and worked really hard but after three games it happened again. So I think it’s part of your career and in the end it’s just the way it is.”

De Bruyne conceded that the three-week break he enjoyed during the summer was “short”, though he believes it was enough to for him to feel refreshed and re-energised.

The Belgian also described the two knee injuries as merely “accidents” rather than the result of fatigue.

“I wasn’t exhausted,” he insisted. “I think in general people need a good summer break, sometimes we play for 11-and-a-half months at a time and there is not enough time to rest.

“I had a rest of about three weeks – after 12 months of playing. Is that short? Probably, yes. But I felt OK to come back.

“It’s not a lot to say, I came back and trained and was out after one week – it’s just the way it goes.

De Bruyne added: “There’s nothing I can do. It was two accidents. I’m happy with my body because I know I have no problems with muscles.

“They were both just accidents, the second time also. I felt my knee and it pops, so you just work hard and try to be back as soon as possible.”