The Belgian has been missing all season, but he is back now and ready to add rocket fuel to City's hopes of winning yet more silverware

You had to feel sorry for Huddersfield Town. Already trailing 2-0 to a dominant Manchester City and barely seeing any of the ball, their players looked to the sidelines and saw Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku getting ready to come off the bench.

Barely a minute later, they had conceded another goal, and then the Belgian duo combined to score a stunning fifth goal and round off a near-perfect day for City.

Huddersfield won't have been the only ones quaking in their boots at the sight of De Bruyne coming off the bench. His triumphant return also sent out a warning to City's Premier League title rivals and indeed any club who has any ambitions of rivalling Pep Guardiola's side for silverware this season.

With De Bruyne close to making a full recovery from hamstring surgery, City are truly ready to launch their assault on all competitions as they attempt to repeat last year's incredible treble triumph…

Getty ImagesCity's GOAT

City, like most teams across Europe this season, have had to contend with their fair share of injury troubles, losing John Stones for much of the campaign and being without Erling Haaland for the last month. There have also been prolonged absences for Doku, Grealish and Bernardo Silva, plus Rodri getting suspended for four matches.

But none of those absences can compare with the void vacated by De Bruyne, who snapped his hamstring 24 minutes into the opening match of the season at Burnley. De Bruyne has been the most influential player of the Guardiola era and arguably City's best player of all-time. He has contributed to 250 goals (96 strikes himself plus 154 assists) and has a unique ability to win matches on his own.

He may have turned 32 last year, but he is still at the peak of his powers, scoring 10 goals and contributing 31 assists last season. His absence had a huge impact on City and forced Guardiola to shuffle his pack significantly, making Julian Alvarez a makeshift No.10 and starting the Argentine in practically every game after being a squad player last season.

AdvertisementGetty 'Few players like Kevin in the world'

City won their first six games of the Premier League season without De Bruyne, but his absence was soon felt as they won only four out of 11 matches between late September and Christmas. In many of those games (notably the draws against Liverpool, Tottenham and Crystal Palace), they had numerous chances but lacked a cutting edge, someone to play a defence-splitting pass, find the only gap in the area or score from long-range.

De Bruyne was exactly what they were missing, and Guardiola could not hide his satisfaction at the return of his talisman. "We are incredibly delighted he is back. Because Kevin helps to win games and there are few [like him] in the world," the coach said after the Belgian's triumphant cameo against Huddersfield.

"We can play good [without him] but win games? Kevin, Haaland, these guys win games. That's why it's so important to have him back. He has a special, special ability to do something that is not easy to find. With all the runners we have now – Phil [Foden], Erling, Matheus Nunes, Oscar Bobb – to have guys who love to run and a guy in behind who can find these passes.

"Kevin is exceptional, he is unique. First we are really pleased he's back, a long time with surgery. His first minutes, the quality of the assist for the Jeremy goal. It's really good to have him back."

GettyRivals slip up while City are away

It is to City's credit that they continued to do so well without De Bruyne and are only five points behind leaders Liverpool at the halfway stage, having played one game fewer due to their participation in the Club World Cup.

Just before jetting off to Saudi Arabia, City were held to an infuriating 2-2 draw at home to Crystal Palace, having thrown away a two-goal lead with only 16 minutes left. It was the fifth league match out of six that City had failed to win, and Guardiola was reminded that they could be 12 points behind Liverpool by the time they next played.

But while City were away getting crowned champions of the world, their three title rivals – Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa – squandered their chance to steal a march on Guardiola's side. Liverpool dropped four points, drawing at home to Manchester United and Arsenal, while the Gunners, City's other main title rivals, surrendered eight, surprisingly losing at home to West Ham before losing again at Fulham.

Villa also lost their heads, drawing at home to Sheffield United, the worst team in the league, and surrendering a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Manchester United. City got back to business immediately after returning from the Middle East, beating Everton and Sheffield United.

As they prepare to visit Newcastle on Saturday, City are third on 40 points, level with fourth-placed Arsenal, two behind Villa in second and five off Liverpool, with a game in hand on all their rivals. That game in question is at home to Brentford. Thomas Frank's side were the only team to win at the Etihad Stadium last season, but it would be a real surprise if City did not take maximum points against the Bees this time around.

Getty Break in Abu Dhabi & two weeks off

City have a challenging game up next at St. James' Park, but if they can beat Eddie Howe's struggling side then it could be plain sailing for the next six weeks.

Guardiola and his squad will take full advantage of their mid-season break and head to Abu Dhabi for a warm-weather training camp. It's the perfect environment for De Bruyne, Stones and Haaland to go through the final stages of their recovery programmes, while it's also an opportunity for Guardiola and his staff to catch their breath and plan another assault on the three competitions – a trip to Abu Dhabi during the 2022 World Cup laid the foundations for their treble triumph.

City won't play again until their FA Cup fourth-round clash at Tottenham on the weekend of January 27-28, which is a far longer break than their rivals are getting. Liverpool have only 10 days off due to their two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Fulham, while Arsenal and Villa have 12 each.