Kevin De Bruyne suffered an acute fracture of the nose and an orbital fracture to his left eye socket in Manchester City’s 1-0 Champions League final defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.
The Belgian midfielder has left hospital but faces a wait regarding how the injuries heal before his availability for Euro 2020 can be determined. De Bruyne was injured in a challenge with Chelsea’s Antonio Rüdiger just before the hour mark in Porto.
“Hi guys just got back from the hospital,” De Bruyne wrote 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.”
It was initially thought that De Bruyne had been concussed in the challenge, with the midfielder replaced by Gabriel Jesus. City were already trailing to Kai Havertz’s 42nd-minute goal, which proved enough for Chelsea to earn a 1-0 win.
De Bruyne required treatment on the pitch at Éstadio do Dragão before leaving the field in tiers. After heading down the players’ tunnel, he reappeared to watch the rest of the final with a visibly swollen left eye.
Nose and orbital fractures can take a number of weeks to heal, so De Bruyne’s participation at Euro 2020 is in the balance. It is possible the 29-year-old could return more quickly if we wears a face mask, similar to that worn by Rüdiger in the final. The Chelsea defender suffered a facial injury in the first leg of their semi-final against Real Madrid.
Belgium’s opening Group B match takes place in under a fortnight. Roberto Martínez’s side will face Russia in Saint Petersburg on Saturday 12 June before games against Denmark (17 June) and Finland (21 June).
