Man City ace Ilkay Gundogan opens up on ACL injury

Liverpool AGREE deal with Feyenoord to make Arne Slot their new manager, as Dutch side accept compensation package that could reach £9.42m... and squad are 'delighted' with appointment
Get the party started! Leicester are PROMOTED back to the Premier League at the first attempt, as Leeds' miserable defeat confirms automatic place, with Foxes kicking off wild celebrations
Inside Ayrton Senna's last hotel room - and to where the champion fell: 30 years after witnessing F1's most cursed race, OLIVER HOLT returns to Imola in this incredibly moving tribute
Newcastle have NOT demanded £20m from Man United to end Dan Ashworth's gardening leave, as arbitration looms... while several players are furious over prospect of post-season Australia trip
Bruno Fernandes and Alexander Isak to each have 2+ shots on target, and Joao Palhinha and James Tarkowski to both commit 2+ fouls priced at 20/1 by Sky Bet
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters provides an updated timeline for the date of Manchester City's trial over alleged 115 financial rule-break charges
Marcus Rashford cannot be painted as an innocent victim when he is looking like the brash £315k-a-week footballer we hoped he wasn't... now selling him IS an option of Man United
Premier League icon looks unrecognisable in this throwback snap... so can you figure out who the former star, who has been back in the headlines this week, is?
Arsenal can't get caught in derby chaos, writes MARTIN KEOWN, as Mikel Arteta's side look to keep their title ambitions alive against their bitter rivals
The REAL Evangelos Marinakis: The explosive hire-and-fire merchant behind Forest's outrageous ref rant has another side - yachts, pop songs, big money... and even bigger tantrums
Arne Slot faces a huge leap up at Liverpool... Big names from Holland often don't cut it here, writes GRAEME SOUNESS. Plus, why it would be no surprise if an agreement has been made to sell Mo Salah
Mikel Arteta reveals he has consulted Arsene Wenger as Arsenal's run-in heats up - as the Spaniard aims to follow in his former boss' lead by securing the Gunners' first Premier League title in two decades
The reckoning starts here for Ange Postecoglou - next six games are crucial for the Aussie as he attempts to steer Tottenham towards Champions League qualification in his maiden campaign at the club
Marcus Rashford's rollercoaster career: A dream start with two goals in Man United victory, campaigning against child poverty, a 12-hour tequila bender and social media abuse
Phil Foden has flourished under Pep Guardiola's new tactics, delivered on the biggest stage and SMASHED his best ever goals tally - how he went from supporting cast to Man City's main man...
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez reunites with Luka Doncic as he heads to Dallas to watch his former basketball star inspire the Mavericks to NBA playoff victory over the LA Clippers
Red Bull chief and Germany icon Mario Gomez predicts football could be one of USA's leading sports in 'five to 10 years'... while urging the New York Red Bulls not to accept simply extending their 14-year playoff streak this season
Nico Rosberg can be the star man on Sky Sports' revamped Formula One coverage with Martin Brundle forced to cut down on race visits
The night Nottingham Forest were REALLY robbed by a dodgy ref! 40 years on, the incredible tale of the official who took a bribe
Super fans, fierce sibling rivalries and a dramatic change of allegiances! After Luke Littler was jeered in Liverpool for being a Man United fan… what clubs do your favourite sports stars support?
The next king of the Kop! Arne Slot is a Pep Guardiola disciple who orders his teams to attack relentlessly like Jurgen Klopp. He ticks EVERY box for Liverpool
QPR 4-0 Leeds: Leicester secure PROMOTION back to the Premier League as Daniel Farke's side are hammered at Loftus Road
Emma Hayes is ready for her sold-out swansong at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea eye Champions League final spot with a second-leg win over Barcelona
Leicester mock Leeds with 'I predict a riot' tweet after the Foxes secured promotion to the Premier League as their rivals lost to QPR

Ilkay Gundogan has been sidelined with ACL injury since December last year
German midfielder has opened up about physical and mental strain of recovery
He said: 'That is the most difficult thing: to feel that you are useless'
26-year-old made his return to action for Manchester City last weekend

Published: 12:03 EDT, 20 September 2017 | Updated: 12:03 EDT, 20 September 2017

e-mail

Ilkay Gundogan spent a torturous 276 days on the sidelines after suffering a ruptured ACL in December last year against Watford.

Following months of mental and physical anguish, the Manchester City midfielder took to the pitch once more last weekend, coincidentally against the Hornets, and his long road back was finally at an end.

The 26-year-old opened up to the New York Times about an immensely difficult struggle to overcome the demons in his mind as well as his body.

Ilkay Gundogan suffered a ruptured ACL last December and returned last weekend

'The worst thing for me is seeing the other players,' he said. 'I see them on the training field, when they are in the locker room, when they go up to the meeting before training.

'I see how they work in the gym, and I am not able to do the same. You know that you are not able to be a full part of the group.

'That is the most difficult thing: to feel that you are useless, not worth as much as before, not worth as much as the others,' he added.

The outpouring of relief Gundogan must have felt as he emerged from the substitutes bench at Vicarage Road on Saturday must have been overwhelming.

Having spent so long in isolation, away from his team-mates and adrift of Pep Guardiola's immediate thoughts, Gundogan found solace in the routine of rehab... and pain.

The German midfielder said he felt isolated from team-mates during his lay-off

Gundogan found the recovery process testing for both his body and his mind

'You need to go until the pain starts,' he said. 'You always go to the pain. The pain is a sign that this is new,'.

'To go to that point again and again, that is bad for the brain. Rehab is always up and down for the mind and for the body. And there have been points where my mind has said: 'O.K. I have to go now,' he confessed.

His cruel injury curtailed fantastic early progress at City but even rehab can teach it's own valuable lessons.

Having overcome ten months of isolation, pain and self doubt, Gundogan can reap the rewards of his own resilience and star for the Premier League leaders once more.