De Bruyne returns as Man City face Fulham

Kevin De Bruyne was included in the Manchester City team to face Fulham at Craven Cottage, making his return to Pep Guardiola’s starting line-up after almost a month on the sidelines.

The Belgium international last started for City in their 1-0 victory away at Bournemouth on March 2 but was substituted in that game after suffering a hamstring injury.

During De Bruyne’s absence, City enjoyed wins over Watford in the Premier League, Schalke in the Champions League and Swansea City in the FA Cup, but he returned to Guardiola’s team to face struggling Fulham at the expense of Riyad Mahrez, who dropped to the bench.

The 27-year-old has made just eight Premier League starts in 2018-19 with a persistent knee injury restricting his opportunities, but the good form of Mahrez, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva has ensured City’s title challenge stayed on track while De Bruyne was missing.

Bouncing into the starting XI like… @debruynekev is back #FULMCI #mancity pic.twitter.com/TmNjtoasXa

— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 30, 2019