Kevin De Bruyne failed to train with Belgium on Wednesday but Eden Hazard managed half a session before their team’s match in the Euro 2020 quarter-final against Italy on Friday.
Each player was forced off before the end of the Red Devils’ 1-0 victory over Portugal in the quarter-finals.
De Bruyne has been very good for Belgium during the tournament / Quality Sport Images / Getty Images
De Bruyne was hit by a late tackle by Portuguese manager Joao Palhinha just before half-time. Initially, the Manchester City man tried to continue, although he was eventually forced to retire with an ankle injury.
Meanwhile, Hazard pulled up with a suspicious muscle strain at the end. The knock is the latest in a long line of injury problems for the Real Madrid striker. After the match, Roberto Martinez doubted the pair’s availability for the Italy game and his first assessment shows some signs of being wrong.
According to RTBF Sport, neither Hazard nor De Bruyne took part in the first part of Belgium’s training session on Wednesday with Lyon defender Jason Denayer also missing. But after his first absence, Hazard connected with his teammates.
We will probably know more about the availability for both players when Martinez talks to the press on Thursday. For now, however, De Bruyne’s commitment seems unlikely while Hazard could be in any capacity.
Belgium will be keen to have two of their most famous artists available for the game as Italy has so far looked very impressive. In the group stage, they scored ten goals and conceded only once.
Danger during the clash with Portugal / Quality Sport Images / Getty Images
Despite this, they did hard work with their 16th match against Austria. With the score level after 90 minutes, it took extra strikes from Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina to ensure their progress.
The game will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, which should ensure a fairly even mix of supporters.
