Roberto Martinez has confirmed Kevin De Bruyne doesn’t need surgery on the facial injuries he sustained in Manchester City’s Champions League final defeat.
De Bruyne had to be replaced after a sickening clash with Antonio Rudiger’s shoulder, which saw the Chelsea man booked. De Bruyne was in tears as he left the pitch with a black eye, and he later confirmed he had been diagnosed with an acute nose bone fracture and left orbital fracture.
That has left his participation in Belgium’s Euro 2020 campaign in doubt, but Red Devils manager Martinez says he might still be able to play some part in the tournament that starts in ten days.
Confirming the good news that De Bruyne doesn’t need surgery on his facial injuries, Martinez said: “Kevin had a different programme to the rest of the players. He was only going to join us seven days later because he was playing in the Champions League final.
“But that programme has obviously been changed, he won’t be able to relax and rest just yet.
“We’ve got to be very cautious, and we will get more clarity in the next few days, but I’ve spoken to Kevin and he was quite positive. We are very fortunate that even though he has a double fracture, he doesn’t need surgery.
“An operation would have made it impossible for him to play in the European Championship. We don’t know if we can use him in the first game. I cannot give an answer because I don’t have any medical facts right now.
“We are still assessing the injury and over the next four to five days we expect clarity. Then we will know what the next steps for Kevin will be.”
Martinez also criticised Rudiger for his role in the injury, suggesting a yellow card was lenient for the German – who has since apologised for the challenge.
Should Rudiger have been sent off for the challenge on De Bruyne? Let us know in the comments here.
“For me, Rudiger is very, very fortunate,” he said. “When you look at the replay, there’s no clash of heads.
“He’s properly leaving the shoulder against Kevin. He seems concussed and we will see the state of that. But that leaves a sour taste, because Rudiger’s holding his head, it’s almost that he wants to show that he’s hiding something.
“For me, it was excessive force and it was reckless. And it should have been a red card. Kevin is not a player that goes down for no reason. You can see the pain and it’s a swollen eye.”
