Leroy Sane says he was ready to step back into the fold at Manchester City just as football shut down amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Germany international winger suffered knee ligament damage during a Community Shield outing against Liverpool in August 2019. A long road to recovery has now kept him out of competitive action for eight months, with it yet to be determined when he will be given a green light to step back onto the field.
Sane believes he will be up to speed when City are cleared to complete their 2019-20 campaign, if that happens, and is confident that he can hit the ground running.
He told the DFB’s official website: “After being injured for such a long time I didn’t want to jump straight back in again, but rather take the time that my body needed.
“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.”
Getty ImagesHe added on the frustration of being prevented from returning to City’s first team, while accepting the need for global health concerns to come first.
He said: “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.
“With every injury, or preparation, you always have to set yourself a goal. But at the moment unfortunately all we can do it wait and see. Will it continue in May? Or in June? No one can answer that right now.”
Mixed messages have been passed out when it comes to campaigns yet to be completed, with Sane – who is sparking talk of interest from Bayern Munich once more – admitting that it is difficult to tell whether fixture lists will be played to a finish.
He said: “You read something different every day and not even the experts agree on this, so it’s difficult for me to make an assessment.
“All I can say is that I really miss football and want to be back on the pitch as soon as possible. We have no choice but to trust the experts and to be ready for when we are told to start again.
“If it does continue then it will probably be behind closed doors, but that would also be fine. It’s important that we find solutions, without taking people’s health lightly. Purely from a sporting point of view, it would of course be the fairest thing to do if the season was still somehow finished.”