Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City’s star, admitted that he sensed his hamstring was about to snap before tearing it early in the season.

De Bruyne made his first FA Cup appearance in nearly five months, coming on as a substitute in a 5-0 demolition of Huddersfield Town, after undergoing surgery in August to repair a ruptured hamstring. He promptly earned his first assist of the season, setting up Jeremy Doku. The Belgian voiced his joy at returning to action after the game, admitting it was just a matter of time before he significantly injured his hamstring, which had deteriorated before to the Champions League final.

“I had three hamstring [injuries] in a succession, but they were nowhere near the same spot. “I had so much scar tissue, it might snap at any time,” De Bruyne told reporters. “Some people thought I returned too early, but three weeks of training without mishap is fantastic. I played for roughly 40 minutes against Arsenal, but after Burnley, it was time to move on.”

City did excellently without De Bruyne, winning the first six Premier League games of the season before a slight dip in form. However, they are now clicking into gear again, and his return comes just as they are about to challenge for the Premier League title and repeat their remarkable success from last season. De Bruyne explained how difficult it was to watch City games while he was recovering.

“No. “”I can watch whatever football I want, and I’ve seen every game, but I don’t like it,” De Bruyne said. “They’ve obviously been fine.” There will be ups and downs following last year’s season, but we did admirably in the bulk of games, with the exception of Villa and probably Wolves. We are there with the other teams. If you’re here with all of the teams, you won’t be far away. We are where we need to be, but we must strive to stay there.”

De Bruyne has 30 assists in all competitions since the start of last season, more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues put together. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is second with 24.

De Bruyne is unlikely to start City’s next game away to Newcastle because Pep Guardiola wants to avoid recurrence of the injury, but he might come off the bench. He and City will then go on a warm-weather training camp in Abu Dhabi, where he will be able to restore match sharpness ahead of their home game against Burnley on January 31.