Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne admits he may be restricted to a limited role for the remainder of the season.

De Bruyne , the champions' Player of the Year last season, has endured an injury-blighted campaign that has restricted him to starting only nine of their 32 Premier League games so far.

“The season is what it is," said the 28-year-old. “I've been injured and had to come back three or four times now.I'm very happy to play again and hopefully I'll be fine until the end of the season.

“I don't know what my level is going to be but, to be fair, I don't really care. Now it's the business end, I just need to do what I can do to help the team win games. If that means playing five games or 10 games, I'll take it. It's been that kind of season.

“I feel sometimes my season had double the length of other players, because every time you need to be in, you need to make almost double the hours. You never have a day off, because you need to work on your recovery. It's more draining than to play. A lot of the time you're alone, but you have to do it."