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Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City has withdrawn from Belgium’s next friendlies owing to a groin problem.
The 32-year-old is poised to miss Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Newcastle United, but the groin injury is believed to be mild, and he is expected to return following the international break
The Premier League championship race will be decided on March 31 when Arsenal visit the Etihad Stadium, and Manchester City will be desperate to have the important midfielder available.
Domenico Tedesco, Belgium’s manager, stated that the injury is to his groin. He’s been playing with a small groin injury in recent games.
‘We knew about Kevin De Bruyne’s injury yesterday. I spoke to both him and the doctor. We resolved to take no risks.
We want him to have time to heal. Taking risks with our players three months before the Euros is inappropriate.
In preparation for Euro 2024, Belgium will face Ireland on March 23 and England three days later at Wembley Stadium.
De Bruyne was withdrawn during Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool last weekend. He was obviously unhappy, shouting with manager Pep Guardiola on the sidelines.
However, if the Belgian has been dealing with a groin issue, the change at Anfield could explain his absence.
The draw with the Reds left the reigning champions third in the Premier League table, one point behind leaders Arsenal and Liverpool with ten games remaining.
Kevin de Bruyne: The Manchester City midfielder ‘is not included in the Belgium team’
De Bruyne made his debut in January after hurting his hamstring in the season’s opener, a 3-0 victory over Burnley. Since then, he has made 12 appearances for the treble-winning team from previous season, scoring twice. Regarding his most recent injury, City is still silent.
In addition to revealing a new away shirt modeled after the beloved Belgian cartoon character Tintin, Tedesco told reporters at the Herge museum that he had inked a new deal that would last at least until the 2026 World Cup.
The former head coach of Schalke and RB Leipzig has won ten straight games since taking over for Roberto Martinez following the 2022 World Cup.
Vice captain Lukaku made it to the team despite missing Thursday’s Europa League second leg against Brighton due to injury.
