Leroy Sane Update After Forward Begins Rehabilitation on Long-Term Injury

Manchester City have received the welcome news that Leroy Sane is able to bend his knee again as he begins his recovery after suffering a serious interior

Manchester City have received the welcome news that Leroy Sane is able to bend his knee again as he begins his recovery after suffering a serious interior cruciate ligament injury in early August.

The winger sustained the problem during the club's penalty shootout victory over Liverpool in the Community Shield, being forced to hobble off in the first half after falling awkwardly.

News emerged shortly after of the extent of the injury, all-but ruling him out of taking part for the majority of City's coming season. With a series of tests and rehabilitation taking place since then, Christian Falk of German publication Bild confirmed that Sane is now able to bend his knee as he undergoes tests in Austria.

Our Update @LeroySane19: he is still in Innsbruck (Austria) in rehab and can bend his knee already again @ManCity @FCBayern

— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) September 5, 2019

It will be a positive update for Pep Guardiola, who will be hoping to utilise the German at some point this season as they bid for Champions League glory alongside a third successive Premier League title.

Despite starting at the Wembley showpiece, the 23-year-old had been linked with a move to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich during the summer after falling out-of-favour under Guardiola for the latter part of last season's record-breaking campaign.

Sane had been in electric form for the Citizens prior to his injury, netting 10 goals in both of the previous two seasons, with 25 assists following suit in that time. It didn't stop him finding himself on the bench, however, with Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva often occupying the wide slots in the 4-3-3 setup.

IAN KINGTON/GettyImages

Whether or not he will return to first-team action upon recovery of his injury, nevertheless it will be further firepower added to an already fearsome strike force that has started the current campaign unbeaten in their first four matches. 

While the normal recovery time for an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is between six and nine months, news of his knee bending could see it closer to the former.