Kevin De Bruyne gives encouraging Man City update after injury that left him incapable of kicking a ball
The Manchester City midfielder said his hip injury was even more frustrating than the hamstring issue that kept him out for five months.
Kevin De Bruyne gave an encouraging update on his recent injury issues and revealed he is finally playing pain free.
The Manchester City midfielder has been struggling with an unusual injury that he initially sustained against Brentford in September and was exacerbated four days later against Inter Milan - his last appearance for nearly nine months.
Pep Guardiola initially revealed the injury was not severe and even claimed De Bruyne could be back by the end of September. But it took until 9 November for him to return, and the Belgian is yet to start a game since recovering.
That could come soon though, with De Bruyne revealing he trained without pain for the first time on Friday.
“There’s not a lot to see but I couldn’t kick a ball,” the 33-year-old said on Monday ahead of the Champions League clash against Feyenoord. “I could do a lot but I couldn’t move freely or do what I needed to do to play. I wanted to but I couldn’t.
“In the international break I moved around to see some people and I’m starting to feel better now. I’m happy about that. It’s been frustrating one but I’m feeling better.”
The hip injury was particularly odd given De Bruyne was spotted in training for several weeks but remained unavailable, causing Guardiola to answer questions on his fitness in almost every press conference.
“I was basically training everything,” said De Bruyne. “I don’t know if people know the injury but with the lower abandonment and everything with the nerves around was creating pain in my groin so every time I would shoot I would get the pain.
“I was trying to find methods to get better and get my power back but it took a long time to get better. Actually, it only got better on Friday, I don’t know why. The last few days it’s been better and I’m hoping to get that still going upwards.”
Injuries have been a recurring theme for De Bruyne over the last 18 months. He was withdrawn with a hamstring problem during the 2023 Champions League final win, and sustained a similar problem in the first game of last season. That required surgery and resulted in him missing the first five months of the campaign.
But the uncertainty surrounding his current injury has proved more irritating for De Bruyne that the long-term hamstring issue. “This [hip injury] has been the most frustrating one. Last year when I had the hamstring I know I am going to be out for five, six months. That’s fine.
“Now, when it happened after Inter I was testing myself to see if I was able to play at the weekend and was not able. I didn’t know how long it would take me to get better and in the end it has taken me a very long time.
“It’s very frustrating not to know when you are coming back and why are you getting pain. The scans were not that bad but there is obviously something you have to deal with. I am pleased I am getting better but I still need to get better. I am doing a lot of stuff to do that.”
De Bruyne has come off the bench in the last three and is targeting a first start, although Pep Guardiola called for caution when speaking during his section of the press conference.
“He is fighting and training more than ever,” said the City boss. “He's fighting to come back to his best. Of course he's not 24, 25, 26, 27, when we’re at our best. Now he has a certain age and last season was five months out.
“In the last game before Spurs, he came to me and said it's the first day he didn't feel pain in two months. That is a point but the other is are you ready for 90 minutes with the rhythm that we play?
“He will need time like the season when he came back from five months out. He played 30 minutes, 45, 35, 40. All I want is for Kevin… ‘ don’t have pain’. Can he train good? After that, Kevin will give me something that is unique. It would make no sense to say the opposite.”