A year is a long time in football.
When Manchester City last visited Abu Dhabi 12 months ago, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan was unable to make the most of the warm-weather training camp as he continued rehab in the gym.
A ruptured cruciate ligament, which came just three months after he had returned from a dislocated patella, meant he was forced to watch as his team-mates were put through their paces in the blistering heat by manager Pep Guardiola.
Fast forward to now and Gundogan is at the heart of another intense training session out on the grass. He has featured 38 times for the Premier League’s runaway leaders since making his return from that long-term injury back in September.
City’s fortunes have also vastly changed since then. Guardiola’s men are on the verge of wrapping up the Premier League title and into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they will face Liverpool.
It’s easy to see why Gundogan is enjoying life again.
“When I was here last year with the team I was still on my rehab time so of course it feels great to be back, to be part of the team, to play my own individual role which is also important, the Germany centre midfielder tells Sport360° in Abu Dhabi.
“I’m on the pitch with the lads, so of course I’m enjoying it. It’s a very happy period for me now in my life again, in my career again. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs in the past, so obviously it feels great to be back to and play and train.
“To be honest, I can’t compare it (last year) any more, it feels so much in the past that I don’t want to really think about it, when I was inside and watched the team training outside all together.
“It’s a big change now for me, a very happy change for me. It feels great. I’m enjoying it a lot and obviously I’m trying to do everything what is able of me to stay fit.”
Ilkay Gundogan goes for goal against Crystal Palace.
Gundogan was the first signing of the Guardiola era, the City boss putting faith in the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder despite him being out injured at the time of his arrival.
The midfielder’s cruciate injury, coupled with the patella dislocation that ruled him out of the first six games of the campaign, meant he featured just 16 times in his first season with the club and only now does he feel like he’s back to being the player City and Guardiola were so desperate to sign back in the summer of 2016.
“I don’t know if I’m able to show it or if I’m doing it or not, I just try to think about the present, about being part of the team, about playing well and training well,” he adds when asked whether repaying the club’s faith in him is at the forefront of his mind.
“Also I focus on what the manager and his staff want me to do, to transport into the team. Of course I try to have my own impact, during the last months I was still on a way to my best, now I feel I’m nearly or already there. I have fun. I’m just happy.”
