‘What’s up with my knee is nothing’ – How Mendy kept his spirits up through injury torment

After being placed in a hospital bed beside a patient diagnosed with cancer, the 23-year-old found he was able to put into context his problems

left-back Benjamin Mendy has revealed how he was able to maintain his spirits after his serious knee injury last season.

The 23-year-old defender suffered a rupture of his right knee ligaments against in September and was forced to travel to for treatment.

Although considered one of the most serious injuries possible for a sportsman, he was rapidly able to put his position into perspective, as he explained to SFR Sport.

“When I was in , the patient next to me, a Spaniard, was diagnosed with cancer,” he explained.

“We found out two days later. He was dying.

“I told myself: ‘What’s up with my knee, it’s nothing'. I think that helped with my recovery.

“When you’ve hurt your knee or your ligaments, it’s nothing at all compared to folk who suffer things that are far more serious.”

Mendy, who was signed to Pep Guardiola’s side from last summer, has recovered sufficiently to earn a place in the World Cup squad.

He was only able to make eight appearances with City over the course of the campaign due to his injury woes, featuring for 451 minutes of competitive football.

He returned to action in late April, coming off the bench against Swansea, and he would make similar cameo appearances against Huddersfield and for the Premier League champions.