Belgian national team medic labels Kevin De Bruyne injury ‘ideal’
Kristof Sas, head of the Belgian Football Association’s medical team, has provided an insight into the country’s view of the injury picked up by Kevin De Bruyne.
KDB blow
The major talking point across English football on Friday of course surrounded De Bruyne’s fitness.
Manchester City welcomed Aston Villa to the Etihad during the week, for a crunch Premier League clash.
When all was said and done, it was the Sky Blues who emerged on the right side of a 2-0 scoreline, securing all 3 points to, temporarily, leapfrog Manchester United to the summit of the English top-flight.
En route to their latest key victory, however, City were also dealt a concerning blow.
This came when Kevin De Bruyne pulled up with what appeared to be a muscle problem, leading to immediate concerns surrounding a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
And the worst fears of the Citizens faithful were subsequently confirmed yesterday afternoon, when Pep Guardiola revealed that his side’s midfield maestro looks set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines:
Pep confirms De Bruyne out for four to six weeks
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) January 22, 2021
‘Not bad at all…’
In the worst case scenario, De Bruyne, after sitting out City’s FA Cup win over Cheltenham this evening, could be in line to miss a further nine of the club’s fixtures over the weeks ahead.
Such a prolonged absence would of course prove to have a detrimental effect on the Sky Blues’ Premier League title hopes, with City, despite the abundance of talent at Guardiola’s disposal, simply not the same team without their midfield string-puller.
WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 21: Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City at Molineux on September 21, 2020 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)
As outlined above, however, whilst his club will of course rue De Bruyne’s untimely setback, the 29-year-old’s national side appear considerably less perturbed by the latest news surrounding their star man.
Speaking this weekend, Kristof Sas, head of the Football Association of Belgium, was drawn on De Bruyne’s injury woes.
Sas, though, whilst admitting that the news will come as a blow to City’s prospects, suggested that he and his colleagues actually view the timing of the situation as ‘ideal’, with the European Championships just around the corner:
‘This kind of injury is not bad at all towards the European Championships this summer.’
‘This way Kevin can get the necessary rest he needs in busy football months.’
‘Kevin can recuperate and he can have a kind of new pre-season towards the Euros.’
‘In fact, Kevin being out for six weeks is actually an ideal situation – well, that is from our point of view!’
‘For the player and his club it is different.’
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester United FC | 19 | 11 | 40 |
| 2 | Manchester City FC | 18 | 18 | 38 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 19 | 14 | 38 |
| 4 | Liverpool FC | 19 | 15 | 34 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 18 | 16 | 33 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 17 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | West Ham United FC | 19 | 5 | 32 |
| 8 | Chelsea FC | 19 | 10 | 29 |
| 9 | Southampton FC | 18 | 5 | 29 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 19 | 4 | 27 |
| 11 | Aston Villa FC | 16 | 11 | 26 |
| 12 | Leeds United | 18 | -4 | 23 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 19 | -11 | 23 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 19 | -8 | 22 |
| 15 | Newcastle United FC | 18 | -12 | 19 |
| 16 | Burnley FC | 18 | -12 | 19 |
| 17 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 19 | -7 | 17 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 18 | -12 | 12 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 19 | -28 | 11 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 19 | -22 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 11 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 11 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 10 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 8 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 6 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Abraham, Tammy | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 5 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 6 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 5 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 5 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 6 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Reid, Bobby | Fulham FC | 0 | 5 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dunk, Lewis | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 4 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 5 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 4 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 5 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 4 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 4 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 5 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Harrison, Jack | Leeds United | 4 |
| Chilwell, Benjamin | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 4 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 3 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 3 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 3 |
