Medical expert analyses Man City blunder after Kevin De Bruyne confession
Kevin De Bruyne could have reached peak form for Man City earlier in the season if he had been given more time to recover from his ankle injury last summer.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine data analysis.
De Bruyne, 30, took pain-killing injections to play through an ankle injury for Belgium at the Euros in 2021.
The midfielder has maintained high standards all season but his output has reached new levels in 2022.
He admitted that it was not until January that he was completely free of pain in his ankle.
And as quoted by The Independent last Thursday (12 May), the Player of the Year candidate confessed that it was from that moment that he began to produce his best form.
Dinnery claims that a “full recovery and rehab programme” after he returned from the Euros would have allowed De Bruyne to hit his peak sooner.
“It’s a very time-crunched environment when it comes to high-profile footballers,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Time is very often not a luxury they are afforded. It is a results-driven business. When big players like De Bruyne are out of your team, they need them back.
“When he first suffered that setback, ideally he wouldn’t have played for Belgium in the later stages of the Euros. That was far from ideal but he was risked and that set him back a little bit further.
“If a player can complete a full recovery and rehab programme, that is always better.”
De Bruyne will pick up his fourth Premier League winners’ medal if City beat Aston Villa on the final day on Sunday (22 May).
He has registered 19 goals and 13 assists in 44 appearances this term.
In other news, Newcastle United told to sign “unbelievable” Ilkay Gundogan after “surprise” update.