Kevin de Bruyne along with Axel Witsel will miss Belgium's opening match of the European Championships against Russia, the team management has confirmed.
De Bruyne is still recovering from a fractured nose he suffered while playing for Manchester City in the finals of the Champions League while Witsel has been out of action since January after suffering a torn Achilles while playing for Borussia Dortmund.
"Axel Witsel and Kevin De Bruyne did not travel to Russia. They stayed in Tubize to continue their recovery," Belgium's official account tweeted.
Belgium will play their first match of Euro 2020 against Russia on Saturday evening.
"The next two days will be really important, just to get de Bruyne back to really being able to move freely and start getting the exercise needed before he can come to the group," Goal.com quoted Belgium manager Roberto Martinez as saying.
The 29-year-old de Bruyne had suffered facial injuries during the Champions League final against Chelsea. He had suffered a nose bone and left orbital fracture during his side's 0-1 defeat against Chelsea in the Champions League final.
This was the first time that Chelsea had made it to the finals of the Champions League after winning the title way back in 2012.
"Hi guys just got back from the hospital. 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," Kevin had tweeted a day after the Champions League final.
( With inputs from ANI )
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