Kevin De Bruyne says Man City’s medical centre has been ‘a bit chaotic’ amid the club’s injury crisis as he opens up on his own painful issue

Chaotic was how Kevin De Bruyne chose to describe Manchester City’s tumultuous month, the most significant crisis of Pep Guardiola’s long reign, and nobody can argue with that assessment.

That De Bruyne could not strike a football without pain shooting through his abdomen until last Friday feels indicative of their season. So Pep, where has it all gone wrong? Well, the talisman can run around with his team-mates at training without issue — looking the picture of health — but he can’t actually kick the round thing.

City’s chronic injury list had appeared set to shorten and then Mateo Kovacic, the stricken Rodri’s deputy, was ruled out for up to a month. The back story to that is tired stars — a few the wrong side of 30 — flogged every week, desperately trying to recapture form.

Every squad have injuries but the sight of Rodri parading his Ballon d’Or on the pitch before the home capitulation against Tottenham really rubbed it in for the City fans.

Their team are in choppy waters, needing victory over Feyenoord on Tuesday not just to reignite their Champions League campaign but the general mood at a place trying to come to terms with five straight defeats. It is their worst run since Stuart Pearce thought shoving David James up front was a neat idea.

Having played 38 minutes since mid-September, De Bruyne is a solid reference point.

De Bruyne, pictured (right) training on Monday, could make his first start since September

De Bruyne’s game time has been significantly reduced this season due to a painful groin injury

The groin injury he sustained against Brentford did not seem particularly troubling at the time — De Bruyne started the goalless draw with Inter four days later — but eventually it kept him out for two months. He has been training for almost four weeks yet hasn’t trusted his body on matchdays.

‘Every time I would shoot the ball, I would get real, real pain,’ De Bruyne said. ‘Everything with nerves around it was creating pain in my groin. I was trying to find methods to get better, to get my power back, but it took a long time. It only got better on Friday, I don’t know why.’

Undoubtedly City have missed the 33-year-old, who will need to be handled with care by Guardiola. De Bruyne was steadfast in saying that he wasn’t fit enough to feature for any length of time but watched others go through the pain in defeats at Brighton and Bournemouth.

The physio room has needed a revolving door and it is only now that City are beginning to welcome back their proper squad — even if Kovacic is now absent. That presents further problems and City were far too easy for Tottenham to play through on Saturday evening.

‘It has been a bit chaotic, I have seen so many people passed around the medical area,’ De Bruyne added. ‘Seeing who is playing, who is not, people who shouldn’t be playing but did with an injury, in these games we were all over the place. Everyone is down but we have to move on.’

Two issues stalk Guardiola: obviously the downturn and how to arrest the alarming slide in results, but also the long-term rebuild. Does De Bruyne, out of contract in the summer, feature in that long-term plan? He has started just 19 of 50 league games since winning the Treble.

Guardiola talked about how the Belgian — who skipped international duty this month — will decide whether he stills feels able to operate at his best. City appear to be leaving the decision to their talisman, who confirmed no talks have taken place over a renewal as interest from MLS rumbles in the background. ‘There’s no rush, I’m not uncomfortable,’ De Bruyne said.

City are uncomfortable, though, and De Bruyne has noticed the trend of failing to respond to setbacks. Guardiola contested that suggestion after the 4-0 thumping by Spurs.

Many City players are still out injured, including star midfielder and Ballon d’Or winner Rodri 

Without Rodri, City have lost their last five matches in a row – including two against Tottenham

City boss Pep Guardiola also spoke to the media at Monday’s press conference in Manchester

Even so, he was honest in admitting that, by City’s standards, this could shape up to be a bad season. And he warned his players not to gift Liverpool the Premier League title.

‘We come from there,’ he said, pointing to the sky. ‘So we can only go down if we lose. It is nice. I think we deserve some patience when we lose games. It will not be a big mess.

‘You are defending a legacy, tradition, success and that is so difficult to handle. If we don’t do it, try to focus on short periods of time and win the next games.

‘What I want is commitment from players to still do what we have to do. We will congratulate the team that takes our crown because they deserve it, not because we deliver it to them, give it to them.’

Over recent weeks, Guardiola has become more expressive. On Friday, he was menacingly leaning over his desk, and he was an agitated flurry of movement in the same seat yesterday. He won’t back down, he’ll double down.

‘What should I change? If I changed in the first season when I was asked to change, maybe we don’t win six Premier Leagues in seven years. The desire is there to change and we’re going to try.

‘One good result can change our minds. In this situation we have to go back to our principles more directly. Don’t think about changing much, less than ever.

‘I always thought when we were winning that “this too shall pass” and right now, “this too shall pass”. In life, nothing is eternal.’