Kevin De Bruyne is delighted to get up and running again

Having managed only three Premier League starts through out Manchester City's current league campaign, Belgian midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne is delighted to be back to fitness after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

They were concerns arising from the fans when City's Catalan boss Pep Guardiola announced a day before Tuesday's Cup victory, he is going to start Kevin De Bruyne.

Many felt it was too little too early to unleash their talented midfielder, while some fans were in support of the immediate introduction of the 27-year-old.

Nevertheless, De Bruyne -who has seen his season interrupted by two knee injuries- scored his first goal of the season at the King Power Stadium.

The midfielder struck the opener in Tuesday's Carabao Cup quarter-final win at Leicester on his first start for seven weeks.

'I've been out so long, so to play 70 minutes is a really good sign for me personally,' he told the club's official website.

''I feel a little bit stiff but I'm happy to contribute again.''

Arijanet Muric saved penalties from James Maddison and Caglar Soyuncu, while Christian Fuchs also missed for Leicester.

Raheem Sterling's blushes were spared thanks to City's progress after he chipped his penalty over the crossbar but Gabriel Jesus, Ilkay Gundogan and Oleksandr Zinchenko won it from the spot.

The reigning League Cup Champions  eventually squeezed through 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw against Leicester City.

City boss happy with his decision to start Aguero and De Bruyne as he admonished his side after the nervy finish.

"We played with Kevin and Sergio (Aguero) who cannot play the full 90 minutes. We played with a guy (Eric Garcia) who is 17-years-old and Aro (Muric) who is 20.

"It was a tough game but that is normal - it is always difficult at Leicester," said boss Pep Guardiola.

"We made quite a good performance. Of course, we had chances to win the game before."

Manchester City's attention will now switch back to League football as the Cityzens prepare to entertain Crystal Palace on Saturday.