Kevin De Bruyne says his return to football has "already started" after his hamstring surgery went "perfect".

The Belgian suffered a “high-grade tear” to his right hamstring after scoring the opener in Napoli's 3-1 win over Inter, pulling up immediately after converting a penalty.

The Partenopei confirmed that De Bruyne was set to be sidelined for up to four months after undergoing the surgery.

As well as missing key fixtures for Napoli in both Serie A and the Champions League, De Bruyne will also be out for Belgium's final two World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein this month.

But De Bruyne appeared upbeat as he gave an update on social media, saying: "Hi everyone, as you all know, I will be sidelined for a while.

"The good news is that the surgery went perfect. My way back has already started! Thank you for all the messages!"

Since joining Napoli, De Bruyne has scored four goals in eight Serie A matches, while also providing two assists in his three Champions League appearances.

He has also created 19 chances for his team-mates across all competitions (joint-top with Matteo Politano), while only Giovanni Di Lorenzo (152) has played more successful passes that ended in the final third than De Bruyne (134).