Kevin De Bruyne will miss Belgium’s first sport of Euro 2020 in opposition to Russia in Saint Petersburg on Saturday as he continues his restoration from the facial fractures he suffered within the Champions League remaining. The Manchester City midfielder stayed behind in Belgium when Roberto Martinez’s facet travelled to Russia, however he hopes to be prepared for the group’s second Group B match subsequent Thursday. “I’m aiming to be prepared for the sport in opposition to Denmark,” De Bruyne told Uefa.com. The 29-year-old suffered the injuries from a tackle by Chelsea defender Antonio Ruediger in Porto last month.
De Bruyne had to be substituted and watched on as his City teammates lost 1-0.
Belgium will also be without Borussia Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel on Saturday as he too stayed behind to focus on recovering from Achilles tendon surgery.
The Red Devils, the world’s top-ranked team, beat Russia twice in qualifying, but Martinez says they will not take their opponents lightly.
“I agree that the first game is often the most difficult in a big tournament,” stated the Spanish coach.
“You need to get into the event each mentally and bodily.
“It’ll be an actual take a look at tomorrow, as a result of we all know this group very properly, however in addition they know us by coronary heart and so they’ll have the help of their followers.”
Russia will be hoping to make their mark in a group also featuring a strong Danish outfit and major tournament debutants Finland.
Their coach Stanislav Cherchesov, who led them to the 2018 World Cup quarter-finals on home soil, believes Russia can take heart from their recent meetings with Belgium, which also included a 3-3 friendly draw in 2017.
“Belgium have 18 players who played in the World Cup in 2018. They’re obviously a strong team,” he stated.
“We’ve performed them thrice over the previous few years and all of the video games had been actually entertaining. We need to play to our most tomorrow to succeed.”
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