Manchester City striker Valeri Bojinov believes he'll be stronger for his knee injury setback earlier this season.

"At the beginning the injury made it very, very hard but I had to come to terms with the fact that I was going to be without football for several months," he admitted. "The only thing I could do was become mentally strong, get focussed on the things I needed to do to come back stronger.

"It was a new experience because I had never had an injury like that before. I think I am a more mature person as a result.

"Now I am even hungrier to return to the squad with full fitness and do well for my club. My motivation is sky high."

Such a truncated introduction to life in the English top flight has only served to heighten Bojinov's desire and he is perfectly clear that he will soon face a much different challenge than the one that confronted him in Serie A.

"It is quite a common belief that the Premier League is the best in the world at the moment because of the passion of the supporters and also the level of teams in general," he declared.

"The difference between playing in Italy and here in England is clearer for me now.

"Unfortunately I have been at home on some weekends because of my injury so I have been watching both Italian and English football and it is extremely noticeable the difference in pace between the two."