There has been something tragic about watching Kevin De Bruyne fall from the giddy heights of last season.
To witness the Belgian a year ago was like seeing someone playing on a cloud as he turned in sublime performances every three days to power Manchester City to a record Premier League title win, creating masterpieces with his eyes closed.
From the assist for Leroy Sane against Stoke to the no-look pass against Tottenham at Wembley, it was probably the closest English football has come to the wonder and awe that Lionel Messi produces in Spain.
If De Bruyne is still trying to play that game though, the controls have changed since knee ligament damage last August that ruled him out for ten weeks set the tone for a long and miserable spell that have left him looking and feeling decidedly mortal.
A promising performance in his third game back ended in Fulham's Timothy Fosu-Mensah falling on his other knee, then two games in eight days six weeks later proved too much for his body to be able to cope with the crunch game with Liverpool. The 27-year-old slowly worked his way back into the team over the winter months, only to pull up with a hamstring problem in the first half of City's game at Bournemouth.
Aguero to return, Mendy to miss out: Man City predicted line-up vs Brighton
For a fourth time in nine months, De Bruyne is back - but anyone expecting a return to the phenomenal levels of last season will be disappointed. The midfielder has never been afraid to give journalists' questions a reality check, and so much time on the sidelines appears to have further knocked down the expectation.
Does fewer games make him fresher for the run-in? 'No, not really.'
Will he reach his best before the end of the season? 'No, probably not.'
Is he ready to play every three days now? 'I don't know.'
If it sounds brutal, it is perfectly understandable. A player that could do no wrong less than 12 months ago has been forced away from something he loves and excels at, while the rest of the squad ploughs on without him to set up something special.
With every hopeful glimpse of a return to last season's version crushed, De Bruyne is done with trying to fill old shoes any more.
"I don’t think I’m going to be like last year. I’m not setting a goal for myself any more," he said. "It’s been hard in the end because I have had to come back four times now in the whole season.
Aguero to return, Mendy to miss out: Man City predicted line-up vs Brighton
"I feel sometimes my season had double the length of other players because every time you need to be in, you need to make almost double the hours, you never have a day off because you need to work on your recovery. It's more draining than to play in the end. A lot of the time you're alone but you have to do it. I did it and I'm happy I'm back.
"I don't expect to play every game. You see the amount of changes we made [against Cardiff]. It's going to be important that everybody stays fresh because with the schedule we have and the importance of the games coming up, we will need almost everybody probably.
"I don't know what my level is going to be but to be fair I don't really care. Now it's the business end I just need to do what I can do to help the team win games. If that means playing five games or 10 games, I'll take it all. It's been that kind of season."
Man City star Kevin De Bruyne makes bold England Euro 2020 claim
