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Martinez undecided on De Bruyne, Hazard

Published:Friday | July 2, 2021 | 12:10 AM
Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne grimaces after a kick on his ankle left him injured during their Euro 2020 round-of-16 match against Portugal at La Cartuja Stadium, Seville, Spain, on Sunday.
AP
Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne grimaces after a kick on his ankle left him injured during their Euro 2020 round-of-16 match against Portugal at La Cartuja Stadium, Seville, Spain, on Sunday.

Belgium coach Roberto Martínez says he will wait to the last minute to decide whether Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard will play against Italy in the European Championship quarter-finals

Martínez says it will be “difficult” for both players to recover from injuries in time for today’s game.

De Bruyne has a ligament issue in his left ankle after a tackle by Portugal midfielder João Palhinha, and Martínez says Hazard has a “soft-tissue injury” from the same game.

Martínez said yesterday that “they didn’t join the group this morning ... but that’s probably something that we expected”.

Martínez says the goal is to “get them fit for the next few games”.

The winner of the match will face either Spain or Switzerland in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London.

AP