Consider the run-up to the last World Cup, in which Gundogan scored in consecutive games for the German national team. But nine minutes after the second goal, he was carted off the field because of a back injury, keeping him out of a World Cup that Germany would win.
But his season ended before Christmas when he tore ligaments in his right knee. In a stirring tribute to their new teammate, City's 11 starters took the field for their next game wearing Gundogan's No. 8 shirt.
Given that history, you couldn't blame Gundogan if he played the rest of the season with his fingers crossed and a rabbit's foot in his pocket.