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Cape Town - Manchester City winger Leroy Sane will be able to join his team-mates for first team training again in mid-December, according to Etihad insiders.
The Manchester City and Germany winger suffered knee ligament damage in the Community Shield victory over Liverpool at Wembley at the start of August.
Sane raised eyebrows with his employers when he elected to be operated on by the German team doctor, rather than City's 'go-to' surgeon, Ramon Cugat, based in Barcelona.
The rapid 23-year-old seems to be making decent strides, however, telling pals that he could be back playing again before the end of January.
When Sane first suffered the injury, it was feared he could be out until late March, but he is expecting to start ball work again after the upcoming international break.
That will be music to the ears of City boss Pep Guardiola, whose team have certainly missed his direct running and ability to score important goals in recent months.
Bayern Munich will undoubtedly also be pleased to hear Sane is on his way back, having publicly courted him all summer, much to the Citizens' annoyance.
The Premier League champions have slapped a £140 million price tag on the former Schalke starlet, although the feeling inside the Etihad is that Sane will continue to push behind the scenes to be allowed to join the Bavarian giants.
Sane is contracted to the Etihad until the summer of 2021 and has consistently baulked on City's offer of a new five-year deal, believed to be worth around £200 000-per-week.
All the same, the Citizens don't envisage Bayern making a move in the upcoming January window, certainly before Sane is able to prove he is backfiring again on all cylinders.
City are hunting four trophies this season and Sane can still play a significant role in that, ahead of him wanting to also represent his country at next summer's European Championships.
Sane arrived from Schalke for £37m in 2016 and has gone on to prove himself one of the hottest young prospects in the game, making 125 appearances and bagging 39 goals for City, collecting two Premier League titles, two Carabao Cups and one FA Cup during that time.
- TeamTalk Media
