Kevin De Bruyne has revealed he has been playing through a hamstring injury for two months in order to help Manchester City win the Treble.
Despite being forced off in the first half of their 1-0 win over Internzionale Milano in the UEFA Champions League final, De Bruyne played a pivotal role in helping Man City get there, as well as inspiring his team to overtake Arsenal to win the Premier League title, finishing the season with the most assists.
Now, his performances look all the more impressive given he has been managing a hamstring problem he was told could worsen at any minute.
“I’ve been struggling for two months but it was all small ruptures," he revealed. "Today the hamstring just snapped.
"I give everything for my team and the people in the club know that. I feel proud that I’ve been able to do what I did. It’s a shame that it went the way it did for me today but we go away winning the Champions League so there’s nothing bad.
“I actually felt all right this week but I’ve been told for two months there’s a possibility I was at risk, but you take it.
“I did what I had to do. Obviously I missed some matches but the games like Arsenal, Bayern and Madrid I managed to do it. I had some personal things that happened with my family on top of that and I managed that.
"I do everything to win the game. And sometimes it’s hard, yes, but I don’t think of it that way. I want to be ready for the next game and if it happens afterwards that I get an injury it’s fine, I’ll deal with it."
How bad is the injury?
De Bruyne says he won't now join the Belgium squad for their upcoming matches, where he would have received his 100th cap.
And there may be concerns over his availability for the start of the 2023/24 Premier League season, which kicks off on 12 August, in just 62 days' time, with the fixtures due to be released at 09:00 BST on Thursday 15 June.
“I’ve no idea [how long I will be out],” he said. “I don’t know what the plan is. I’ll probably take a scan somewhere this week.
"I’ll be out of the national team 100 per cent, I know that."
See: 2023/24 fixtures to be released on 15 June
Also in this series
Part 1: Guardiola: I don't want to disappear now
Part 2: Man City's Treble win: What it means to the players
Part 3: Raw emotion: Man City's celebrations in 10 photos