De Bruyne: Fatigue not behind injury woes

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne insisted misfortune and not exhaustion are behind his injury-ravaged season with the Premier League champions.

Knee problems have blighted De Bruyne’s 2018-19 campaign, with the Belgium international midfielder only making his return in last week’s win over Everton, having been sidelined since November.

De Bruyne has only made six appearances in all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s City this term after suffering lateral collateral ligament damage in his right knee in August following Belgium’s run to the World Cup semi-finals.

The 27-year-old is confident his injury problems are behind him ahead of Tuesday’s EFL Cup clash against Leicester City as he denied fatigue played a part in his knee woes.

“There’s nothing I can do – it was two accidents,” said De Bruyne. “I wasn’t exhausted. I think in general people need a good summer break, sometimes we play for 11.5 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. There’s not a lot to say, I came back and trained and was out after one week – it’s just the way it goes.

“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.

“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.”