Kevin De Bruyne underwent “a small operation” on his face on Saturday morning and “will rejoin the team on Monday”, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez stated. “We determined that Kevin De Bruyne lastly wanted a small intervention, which happened as we speak. He will rejoin the group on Monday,” the Spanish coach told a news conference ahead of a friendly against Croatia. The Manchester City playmaker suffered fractures to his nose and left eye socket after a collision with Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger in the Champions League final a week ago. “It was necessary for the long term,” stated Martinez. “It lasted 20 minutes. Everything went nicely.”
The surgery “does not delay Kevin’s return. It could even speed up his return because he won’t need a mask,” stated Martinez, including that De Bruyne could be unavailable for his or her first Euro 2020 match towards Russia on 12 June and refused to foretell when the playmaker would return to the pitch.
Axel Witsel who has been included he squad although he’s nonetheless recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon in January, can even miss the sport towards Croatia in Brussels on Sunday.
A 3rd recovering midfielder, Eden Hazard, will begin on the bench.
“Eden can do nearly the whole lot in coaching,” said Martinez. “I feel he is fit for tomorrow. He won’t start the game, but I think he will finish it.”
Hazard, who missed a lot of Real Madrid’s season stated when he joined the Belgium squad on May 31 that he nonetheless had “some thigh issues”.
After opening against Russia, Belgium, ranked number one in the world , play Denmark and Finland in Group B.
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