De Bruyne ‘nowhere near’ his best after Man City return

LONDON: Kevin De Bruyne admits he is “nowhere near” his best yet after the Manchester City midfielder made his return from a five-month injury absence.

De Bruyne came off the bench in the second half of City’s 5-0 win against Huddersfield in the FA Cup third round on Sunday. Playing for the first time since the opening day of the Premier League season against Burnley in August, the Belgium star was given the last 33 minutes and was quickly back in the old routine as he set up City’s fifth goal for Jeremy Doku.

De Bruyne had hamstring surgery after aggravating a problem that had affected him in the latter stages of last season’s treble-winning campaign. Although he is back to fitness, De Bruyne said he needs time to get up to full speed.

“I worked hard and I’m happy to be back. I felt good so I’m pleased about that but I’m still nowhere near where I need to be,” he said. “It’s a good continuation of the process of the last few weeks. I feel good, the movements were good, I felt comfortable in what I was doing and that was the only thing I was really looking for.

“To get that ovation after being away for five months gives you more of a boost. There will be moments I want to play every game but I know in the back of my mind I need to take care of myself.