Pep: I think for his mind it will have been good to have had a few months off

Guardiola believes De Bruyne, who is nearing a return to the starting XI, will have benefitted mentally from his lay-off

- TYRONE MARSHALL

PEP Guardiola believes Kevin De Bruyne will benefit from his four-month break from action as the City midfielder closes in on a return to the first-team squad.

De Bruyne has been absent since the first weekend of the season, having undergone surgery on a hamstring injury picked up at Burnley, but he has been back full training for nearly two weeks and is 'training with a lot of energy, according to Guardiola.

The City boss was set to decide on whether De Bruyne will return to the squad for today's game against Sheffield United after training on Friday afternoon, but with John Stones, Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland still absent, there were places up for grabs in the matchday squad.

De Bruyne returned to training with the rest of the squad in Jeddah for the Club World Cup and is now close to the point of building up match fitness, having been restricted to around an hour of football this season.

Guardiola is trying to hold the 32-year-old back at the moment and is sensing that the lay-off might have been beneficial to him.