Injury-enforced break ‘good’ for me and Man City – De Bruyne

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne says his five-month hiatus from football due to injury could end up being a blessing in disguise for himself and his club.

De Bruyne made his return from hamstring surgery in the 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town on Sunday, having not played for Pep Guardiola's side since August.

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The 32-year-old, who provided an assist for Jérémy Doku just 17 minutes after coming on, said he felt rested after his time on the bench and was ready to help City win. fight for trophies in the second half of the season.

“It's not like I needed a break, but I took it to turn a disadvantage into an advantage,” De Bruyne said.

“When I reflect on my career, playing the last 10 years non-stop with a short break, maybe it was good for me to reset a little and take care of myself when that's not really possible during the year.

“I was hoping I could work hard and get back in the right direction and I feel like I'm doing that, but obviously I need to improve.”

De Bruyne missed 27 matches before returning to the team for the 2–0 victory against Sheffield United on 30 December.

He got his first minutes against Huddersfield and later admitted it was good to be back, if only because he doesn't like watching games on TV.

“I can watch any football and I have watched every game but I don’t like it,” he said.

“They are obviously doing well. After the year we had last year there will be ups and downs, but most games, with the exception of Aston Villa and maybe Wolves, we We played pretty well. We are there with the other teams.

“If you're here with all the teams around, you won't be far away. We're where we need to be, but we have to try to continue on this path.”