Could One Of Europe's Greatest Midfielders Finally Make A Comeback From Injury?
One hundred thirty-five days is how many days Kevin De Bruyne has missed since his hamstring injury way back during Opening Day of The Premier League, where Manchester City beat Burnley 3-0. Later, he would go on to have hamstring surgery, which made him miss a little over four and a half months, totaling 32 missed games across all competitions. According to transfermarkt.us, this is De Bruyne's longest-ever injury period.
He began popping up occasionally, like at the recent FIFA Club World Cup semi-final. You could see him sitting on the bench with Erling Haaland, both wearing the Man City training kit. Before that, he would watch the games in his box seats at the Etihad Stadium.
For this week's game against Sheffield United, De Bruyne was listed as a sub, which is the closest he has been to playing in an actual game since he started the game against Burnley. This means that one of the best midfielders in The Premier League and Europe is ever so close to returning.
But while KDB returning is all well and good, this means that a World Cup-winning striker named Julián Álvarez will have his minutes reduced quite a bit after starting every single Premier League game this season. Álvarez has done great partnering with Haaland and helping fill the void De Bruyne left, and when Haaland is injured like he is now, Álvarez has also been filling in as the lone striker up top.
When De Bruyne does return to the pitch, it's best to give him some time to build up to the lofty expectations he has set for himself as a player. I don't expect him to reach the starting XI but rather appear for a few minutes to test his match fitness and see how the injury is holding up. The earliest we could see De Bruyne play in The Premier League is game week 21 or 22, around the second half of January.
I'm sure people who play Fantasy Premier League can't wait for him to return. I know I'm one of them.
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