Man City midfielder aiming to return to training this month

Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne says he is on track with his rehabilitation from a serious knee injury and is aiming to be back in training by the end of March.

De Bruyne, 24, joined for a club-record £54m last summer from Wolfsburg but has been sidelined since the end of January after suffering knee ligament damage and an ankle injury in their League Cup semi-final win over Everton.

The Belgium international had been in tremendous form prior to his injury and he would provide Manuel Pellegrini with a huge boost ahead of what could be a huge final few months in the season, where City will be hoping to be challenging for the league title and the Champions League.

“I hope to be back training with the squad in five weeks, after the international break at the end of March,” De Bruyne told City’s official website, via the Belfast Telegraph.

“Everything’s going according to plan. I’ve already been working cautiously for four weeks now – doing some squats, training my muscles. Now the brace is off, the real work is about to begin.”

Despite playing a direct hand in 14 goals in 19 league matches, City’s win ratio is surprisingly much greater without De Bruyne in the starting XI (77.8%).

For more stats on Kevin de Bruyne, click here to visit his WhoScored player page