De Bruyne faces race against time for Euro 2020 after double fracture

Carlo Garganese

• 30 May 2021 13:19 BST
• 3 min read

Kevin De Bruyne faces a race against time to be fit for Euro 2020 after suffering a double facial fracture during Manchester City’s Champions League final defeat.

De Bruyne was stretchered off the pitch during Man City’s 1-0 loss at the Estadio do Dragao with half-an-hour to go after a collision with Toni Rudiger.

The Belgium star was taken to hospital and he has now revealed that he suffered two facial fractures during the incident.

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“Hi guys just got back from the hospital,” De Bruyne posted on Twitter.

“My diagnosis is Acute nose bone fracture and left orbital fracture. I feel okay now. Still disappointed about yesterday obviously but we will be back.”

The 29-year-old, who is a key player for his country, now faces a race against time to be fit for Belgium’s Euro 2020 campaign.

The finals kick off in 12 days as Turkey take on Italy in the opening game in Rome.

Belgium’s first match of the tournament comes a day later when they travel to St Petersburg for their Group B clash with Russia.

Orbital fractures often take around three weeks to heal, which means that De Bruyne may only be fit for the knockout stages.

De Bruyne was named in Belgium’s 26-man squad for Euro 2020.

De Bruyne: Statistics in 2020/21

National team coach Roberto Martinez is able to wait until the day before Belgium’s first game before removing any injured players.

He is likely to give De Bruyne every chance to recover and there is also the possibility of the midfielder playing with a facial mask.

It is nevertheless a big blow for Belgium – considered one of the favourites for Euro 2020 – who already are dealing with another of their star players, Eden Hazard, struggling for his best form and fitness.