Leroy Sané has offered Manchester City supporters some positive news during the current Premier League hiatus by revealing he was 'on the verge' of returning from injury prior to football's indefinite break.
The German has not played a single minute of senior football this term after suffering knee ligament damage during the season's curtain-raising Community Shield clash with Liverpool back in August.
That injury not only forced the forward to undergo surgery, but also brought interest from Bayern Munich to a standstill having been heavily linked with a move before the summer transfer window closed. Talk of a switch was reported by 90min back in July, but even as late as January 90min revealed that Sané was 'anxious' to return to the Bundesliga as soon as possible.
His long-term absence had temporarily shelved those discussions, as Sané took part in a City Under-23 clash with Arsenal as his recovery entered the final stages. It was a decision he backed himself, so as to ease his way back into first-team football.
“That’s why I suggested that I should play for the youth team first so that I could get used to the speed of the game step by step. Lots of people were surprised but for me it was the logical first step to make; that’s what I planned to do from the start and what I told the coach.
"Overall I felt really good and was on the right track; I was on the verge of making my comeback. I still need one or two competitive games to get back to full fitness so that I can get my confidence back again, which is very important.”
While Sané admitted he was disappointed not to return to Premier League action when he recovered, he insisted that this is not the priority at present, as the wider world is undergoing an unprecedented era.
He added: “As I said I was on the verge of making my comeback; I had been working towards that for many months. Nevertheless, I can still continue to do that and I know that there are much worse things. For example, being exposed to the virus.
“Now we can only wait for the situation to relax again. We all have to trust the experts and stay patient. So I’m preparing myself every day for an unknown date."
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Source : 90min