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Ilkay Gundogan is hungry for another Champions League final … just two years after he feared his football career might be over.

The Manchester City midfielder was brilliant as the Blues beat Barcelona in a group match 3-1 to announce their credentials as a contender for the trophy.

After losing the 2013 final, when he scored from the spot but saw Bayern Munich beat his Borussia Dortmund side, he is desperate to get back to the biggest stage in European club football.

And the year he was forced to take out of football, when a back injury sustained on international duty had him worried he might never play again, has sharpened that desire.

“It has definitely made me more hungry. I missed the World Cup in that time, and one whole season,” he told MEN Sport.

“I hope I can play a little bit longer now at the end of my career – that I can get that year back in the future.

“But I missed important games, and it made me more hungry.”

Gundogan admits he almost despaired in 2014, when no-one seemed able to diagnose the back problem.

He said: “It took me 14 months to be ready, back on the field and training.

“It wasn't always easy to have the hope to come back as soon as possible, and be fit as soon as possible.

“There are times where you ask yourself if it's possible to play any more football.

“I went from doctor to doctor and had a lot of treatment but nothing was really helping me until I found the right doctor to do the surgery.

“After that it felt like I lost 20 kilogrammes and everything was easier. I just tried to continue as I had before my injury. It was hard work, but I think I deserve to be back.”

Gundogan then suffered a dislocated kneecap in April while training with Dortmund, an injury he feared had KO'd his move to City – until Pep Guardiola called him to reassure him he was still wanted.

And after scoring four goals in his last two games, he has a warning for the Premier League: “I am getting there. I wouldn't say I am 100 per cent – maybe by scoring, but not my performance!

“But I feel more and more comfortable on the field with the guys and also in my role. Everything is improving week by week and so I just want to continue like that.”

Gundogan is the only current member of City's Champions League squad to have scored in a final – and he admits he looks back on that defeat by Bayern with mixed feelings.

“If you have the chance to reach a final, and be there to win the trophy, of course you are disappointed when you lose the game – that's a fact,” he said.

“But it wasn't just about that game. It was about that year at Borussia Dortmund, which was a boost for every single player and for Jurgen Klopp as a manager, that we just handled it to go to the final.

“It was quite impressive to the whole of Europe that we were there, and it was all about the improvement in our football over the previous few years.

“Every single player took development from it. We deserved to be there and were disappointed to lose the game, but it was quite a big achievement for us as players and as a club.”

Dortmund's exploits in 2013 reminded everyone that it is not just the well-established glamour clubs who reach finals – and that is an encouragement for City.

“We saw Atletico Madrid reach the final twice in three years, and they are not a Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich,” said Gundogan.

“So every year the teams who are involved have the possibility to reach the final. Sometimes it's not about the quality you have in your squad, but having the character and mentality to deal with difficult situations.

“We were able to do that in my time at Dortmund and deserved to get to the final. Every year is a new chance to do that and we want to compete with the best.