De Bruyne came off the bench in the second half of the match against Huddersfield, which ended in a sweeping 5-0 victory for City in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday.
The Belgian international played his first match since the opening round of the Premier League against Burnley last August. He participated for about 33 minutes and quickly succeeded in regaining his magic touch by passing the ball from which the fifth goal came through his compatriot Jeremy Doku.
De Bruyne underwent surgery due to a tear in his thigh, after suffering from this problem throughout the final period of last season, in which City won a historic treble.
Despite his return to his usual fitness, De Bruyne stressed that he needs time to return to his maximum capacity.
“I worked really hard and I'm happy to be back. I felt good so I'm happy with that but I'm still far from where I want to be,” he said.
He added: “It's a good continuation of the process of the last few weeks. I feel good, the movements were good, I felt comfortable in what I was doing and that was the only thing I was really looking for.”
He added: “Getting this applause after a five-month absence gives you more motivation. There will be moments when I want to play every match, but I know deep down that I need to take care of myself.”
He continued: “It is good that we have fewer matches in January. I do not expect to play many matches, and the Newcastle match next week is big, so I expect to return to the bench.”
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