Pep Guardiola: Leroy Sane Still 'Weeks' Away from Manchester City Injury Return

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said Leroy Sane is still "weeks" away from a return after a his long-term injury layoff.

The Premier League champions confirmed recently that the German winger was back in training, having missed the entire 2019-20 season so far because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in the Community Shield clash with Liverpool in August.

Speaking ahead of the team's clash with West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday, Guardiola told reporters:

"He's started training with us. When you have an injury, especially like this one for six months ... you need to recover the tempo, the rhythm, the confidence in your body, in your knee, don't think about the injury.

"It needs time. It's not like an ankle, for example, or a muscular injury. The injury to the knee always needs time. He needs weeks, [what is] important is the surgery was perfect and he's recovering incredibly well, and he will come back hopefully stronger than before, but right now he needs a little bit more time."

In January, City posted a video showing Sane back in training with the club's first team:

Sane's return will be a huge boost to City as they seek to finish what has been a challenging campaign on a high.

Guardiola's team are 22 points behind runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool, but they remain in contention for the UEFA Champions League—they face Real Madrid in a mouth-watering last-16 tie—the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Sane has been a big miss for City this season, as he brings a thrust and vibrancy to the left flank that no other player in the squad possesses. 

While he fell out of favour towards the end of last season, Guardiola's team would no doubt benefit from having such a dynamic player to call on. Last term, the 24-year-old scored 10 goals and laid on 10 assists in the Premier League in 31 appearances.

With Sane injured, Raheem Sterling has featured in all but five of the team's 38 games this season. The Englishman is also now set for a spell on the sidelines because of a hamstring problem, meaning a return for Sane would be timely for the City boss.