Kevin De Bruyne has admitted his latest hamstring injury was a "really big blow for me physically and mentally" but has vowed to get back to full fitness.
The 32-year-old limped off after just 23 minutes of the first Premier League game of the 2023/24 season - a game which Manchester City would go on to win 3-0 against Burnley - and is expected to be out for a lengthy period of time after undergoing surgery this week.
City won their first game without De Bruyne, beating Sevilla 5-4 on penalties to lift the Super Cup, but the result was overshadowed by Pep Guardiola's admission that the Belgian's latest hamstring woe is a "serious" injury that could rule him out until 2024.
De Bruyne has now taken to social media for the first time, posting after going under the knife: "The news after the Burnley game was a really big blow for me physically and mentally. Now the surgery is done I’m ready to heal my body and get back to work soon. Thank you all for the support."
The injury is very similar to the one De Bruyne picked up in last season's Champions League final, which ended his involvement in the game prematurely.
After the final, De Bruyne admitted he'd been struggling with hamstring "ruptures" during the last two months of the 2022/23 season, but had finally made things worse after warning from doctors about what playing on could potentially cause.
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“I’ve been struggling for two months, since the Bayern Munich away game, They were all small ruptures but today I snapped it all the way so I wasn’t able to go on," De Bruyne said after the game.
“I’ve been told for two months there’s a possibility I was at risk but, you know, you take it. I try to be available for my team and I know with the type of player I am there is sometimes a possibility with all the power and the type of runs I make and the intensity with which I play that I put my body on the line. But that’s fine. I do everything to win the game. And sometimes it’s hard. In the final, the hamstring just snapped.”
Though not a direct consequence of De Bruyne's injury, City have been looking to strengthen their midfield options after learning the extent of his problem, with West Ham United's Lucas Paqueta the name at the top of Guardiola's wish list.
But a move for the 25-year-old Brazilian has been halted amid an investigation into potential betting breaches by the player. City were yet to meet West Ham's asking price in any event, with 90min revealing that an initial £70m verbal offer had been turned down by last season's Conference League winners.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Kevin De Bruyne reveals personal impact of serious hamstring injury.
