Kevin De Bruyne makes Manchester City return following four-month injury recovery

Manchester City have welcomed Kevin De Bruyne back into their matchday squad as they take on Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon at the Etihad Stadium.

The Belgium international midfielder has been absent from Manchester City action since the opening game of the ongoing Premier League season, having been withdrawn from a clash with Burnley at Turf Moor with a reoccurring hamstring problem.

Following a similar issue that cut short his UEFA Champions League final outing in Istanbul last June, the decision was made for De Bruyne to undergo specialist surgery to prevent a reoccurrence of the problem later down the line.

As such, the 32-year-old has spent the last four months recovering from the injury and subsequent surgery, first returning to Manchester City first-team training in Jeddah as the club took part in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Now, Kevin De Bruyne has made a full return to the Manchester City squad, joining up with Pep Guardiola’s named matchday squad to take on Sheffield United in their final game of the 2023 calendar year.

Kevin De Bruyne’s action against Sheffield United is likely to be somewhat restricted however, with manager Pep Guardiola reaffirming the need to manage the Belgian’s minutes until he is back to top-level match sharpness next month.

City take on Huddersfield Town in the Emirates FA Cup third round in their first contest of the 2024 calendar year, before Premier League matches against Newcastle United and Burnley follow alongside a potential fourth round tie in the aforementioned cup competition.

Some around the club believe that the meeting at St James’ Park could mark Kevin De Bruyne’s full return to a starting position in the squad, while a winter training camp in Abu Dhabi presents a further opportunity to develop the playmaker’s fitness even further.