Kevin De Bruyne has given an update on his future at Manchester City, following a lengthy injury layoff that has kept him sidelined for the past two months. The Belgian midfielder, whose contract is set to expire at the end of the season, had initially planned to discuss his future with the club after the summer, but an unexpected injury disrupted those plans.
De Bruyne suffered the injury in September, initially hoping it would be a short-term issue. However, it turned out to be a far more serious problem, sidelining him for eight to nine weeks. He made his return to action last Friday, coming off the bench in City’s 3-2 loss to Tottenham, and was relieved to finally play pain-free for the first time since his recovery began.
“I was hoping to be out for a couple of days and it ended up being eight or nine weeks so I wanted to get through that first and see how I am,” De Bruyne explained. “I’m not too obsessed with things right now. People ask me about this but there’s not a lot I can say. There haven’t been a lot of talks. I just want to play good football again and the rest we will see.”
The 33-year-old admitted that the injury has impacted his ability to focus on contract discussions, saying he wasn’t in the right mindset to engage in those talks while struggling with his recovery. Now that he’s back on the pitch, De Bruyne is more focused on regaining his best form before considering the next steps in his career.
“I had a conversation already in the summer but then I had the injury so I was not in the right frame of mind to speak about that. I really want to be good and be back on the pitch and be myself again and there is no rush. I don’t feel uncomfortable in my situation, I just want to play football.”
De Bruyne reflected on the frustration of his injury, noting that it was particularly difficult not knowing when or why he was still feeling pain after his initial recovery.
Despite these setbacks, he’s pleased with his progress, particularly after his substitute appearance against Spurs, which he felt marked a noticeable improvement from his previous outings.
“I think personally this has been the most frustrating [injury],” De Bruyne admitted. “Last year I knew I would be out for five or six months but this time I was testing myself to see if I would be fit for the weekend after Inter [in September] and it’s taken a very, very long time.’
‘It’s really frustrating not to know when you’re coming back and why you’re getting pain. I’m pleased I’m getting better but I still need to get better and I’m happy that against Tottenham I could see a difference than the last two games so I can see the positive.”
For now, De Bruyne is content to take his time and focus on returning to peak form, with contract talks likely to resume once he’s fully fit.
