Leroy Sane makes successful return from injury for Man City U23s vs Arsenal

Leroy Sane made a successful return from injury for Manchester City U23s on Friday night.

The winger has been out of action all season after suffering a serious knee ligament injury just 10 minutes into the Community Shield victory over Liverpool in August.

While Sane was spared a full ligament tear, which would have ended his season before it even began, he still suffered significant damage which required surgery and a lengthy spell of rehabilitation.

The 23-year-old returned to training in January but wasn't rushed back to action and made his long awaited return at the Emirates Stadium as the young Blues took on Arsenal.

Sane managed 57 minutes upon his return after over six months on the sidelines and appeared to come through the game unscathed, while showing flashes of what City have been missing in his absence.

The German started the match in attack with highly-rated youngster Jayden Braaf, creating a mouthwatering look at what a future City front-line might look like.

However, things didn't get off to a great start as the Gunners took the lead after just two minutes, with Folarin Balogun rifling home from close range.

City managed to fight their way back into a closely contested Premier League 2 fixture and got a healthy slice of luck to draw level, as Adrian Bernabe's 20-yard shot bounced off the post but then rebounded off the Arsenal goalkeeper and into the net. Though Balogun would score again to put Arsenal back in the lead.

Sane's return couldn't have come at a better time for City, who have a Manchester derby against United and the Champions League last-16 second leg against Real Madrid coming up on the horizon.