Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy reveals the one condition he gave Pep Guardiola before he had surgery: 'he promised me City would be in the Champions League semi-finals'

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Benjamin Mendy was faced with the tough decision of whether or not to go under the knife when he learned he had ruptured his ACL, and sought one condition from manager Pep Guardiola.

Realising he would be out of action for some time, Mendy needed reassurances from Guardiola as to the shape City would be in upon his return. 

After moving to north west England fresh off the back of a glorious campaign in Monaco, Mendy had only trophies and titles on his mind.

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Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy is hard on the comeback trail following injury

Mendy took to Twitter this week to show his latest progress on an exercise bike

Writing in his new monthly column with the Times, Mendy revealed he only agreed to have surgery on his troublesome knee providing City would reach the latter stages of the Champions League.

'I told Pep after I got my results I would only have surgery if he promised me City would be in the Champions League semi-finals when I come back. That is our checkpoint. That is where we will meet again.' Mendy wrote. 

‘I’ve been training seven days a week as I want to get back as soon as possible'.

Reflecting upon the match in which he got injured, Mendy admits hindsight has made him look back on the tackle which resulted in the ACL damage differently. 

Mendy made Pep Guardiola promise he would get City to the Champions League semi-finals

'The injury happened almost five weeks ago, but I only saw it back for the first time this week. I thought: “I could have avoided making that tackle.” I should have challenged Andros Townsend from another angle."

Nonetheless Mendy is now firmly on the comeback trail and has been making sure to stay on top of all City's matches. 

'I’ve made sure I’ve watched every City match while I’ve been in Barcelona. I can’t keep my eyes off the TV when we play,' wrote Mendy.

'I’m not surprised at how well we’re playing because I saw this kind of football every day in training. It’s perfect football,' he added.

Mendy had impressed for City before rupturing his ACL in the 5-0 win over Crystal Palace

The mercurial full-back has made a habit of taking to social media on almost a daily basis to keep fans updated with his latest developments and progress. 

Posting a short clip on Friday, Mendy took to Twitter to show his followers himself taking a short ride on an exercise bike.

A smiling Mendy looked to be in high spirits while talking to the camera, and later captioned the tweet: 'One month after you get on the bike.'