Johnson played until early November before taking a month out - he then came back for three painful appearances in December before getting to the bottom of the problem.

He said: "I was playing with pain for some time and not able to put in a full week's training, it was a strange injury. That injury kept me out for 10 or 11 games and was my first major injury setback. It taught me patience."

The England Under-21 international has since come back into the side and now aims to put in some match-winning performances to mirror his first part of the season.

He said: "The great thing for me now is that I have had no problems since I came back and, hopefully, I will be able to finish the season as strongly as I started it."

Meanwhile, Manchester City's match against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday 4th May has been moved to Sunday 5th May with a 4pm kick-off.