Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy opts for high-tech pulse massage patterning to speed up rehab for nasty knee ligament injury

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Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy is turning to high-tech remedies when it comes to his knee ligament injury, hoping cutting edge science will speed up his return to the football pitch.

The £52million signing from Monaco was dealt a blow earlier in the season when he crumpled under a challenge during a Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.

Scans showed the news Mendy and City feared most - rupturing of the anterior cruciate ligament in the right knee - but the Frenchman has been doing his utmost since to get back to action.

Benjamin Mendy has been using pulse massage patterning to speed up his knee recovery

Mendy took to social media this week to share an image of himself lying on a bed with his legs wrapped in what at first glance appeared to be inflatable trousers.

The smiling defender captioned the Instagram snap in comical fashion, writing: 'Bionic legs coming soon.'

What the picture actually showed was the high profile star undertaking Normatech pulse massage patterning.

The procedure is a scientifically engineered method of moving blood-flow around the legs in order to best maximise recovery from injury.

How Mendy's 'bionic legs' - better known as Normatec pulse patterning, actually work

Mendy has kept fans updated and recently showed off the removal of his stitches via Instagram

The Normatech 'bionic legs', as Mendy refers to them, are split up into five zones.

Zone one keeps the base of the foot held in place, while zone two pulses in order to begin the stimulation of blood-flow.

Zone three then comes into play by pulsing the shin area of the leg, while simultaneously zones one and two begin to hold.

Following the pattern zone four then pulses higher up the leg, while one, two and three take up the duties of holding the leg - and so forth until zone five at the top of the thigh pulses as the remainder of the leg is held.

Despite Mendy's absence City have been flying in both the Premier League and in Europe

City will be hoping to have Mendy back in action sooner rather than later, though have been faring quite nicely without the Frenchman in the meantime. 

Pep Guardiola's side built upon their recent 7-2 Premier League demolition of Stoke City with a fine performance in the Champions League, beating high-flying Italian side Napoli 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

The sky blue side return to action on Saturday when they play host to Sean Dyche's Burnley, with the chance to further extend their lead at the summit of England's top flight division.