Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has admitted he is struggling to motivate himself to train during the coronavirus lockdown.
The Germany midfielder has not kicked a ball for City since the 2-0 derby defeat to Manchester United on March 8.
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He has been training at home for more than a month, but the 29-year-old says it has been a struggle.
“To be honest, it’s not so easy to motivate yourself these days every day when you are training,” said Gundogan. “You know, like people who are working from home, you can maybe compare it to that.
“For those people, it’s also not the same as driving to work every day and then doing their jobs. You have to motivate yourself to do things and to do your work. Some days it’s harder than others.”
The suspension of football across Europe has temporarily halted City’s bid to add the Champions League and the FA Cup to the Carabao Cup they lifted at Wembley in March.
Pep Guardiola will have to find a way to re-establish some momentum once competition resumes, but Gundogan insists the unexpected break is not all bad news — particularly for Leroy Sane, who is recovering from a knee injury.
“For everyone the situation has its good and bad sides,” said Gundogan. “On one hand, Leroy had already trained with the team and he had his comeback in sight, even though he still had a few minor things.
“But he was almost back at playing again. Especially for your psyche, it’s important to be able to play again after such a long time.
“On the other hand, he now has a bit more time to figure out those minor problems he still had. The fact that others can’t play either is not so bad for him.”