Belgium Portugal De Bruyne Euro 2020Getty

De Bruyne limps out of Belgium's Euro 2020 clash with Portugal

Kevin De Bruyne limped out of Belgium's Euro 2020 win over Portugal on Sunday with an ankle injury.

Late in the first half, the Manchester City star was tackled illegally by Joao Palhinha and though he emerged for the second period, he quickly indicated that he needed to be replaced. Shortly afterwards, Dries Mertens entered the field in his place.

De Bruyne will require further scans and supervision in the comings days, according to manager Roberto Martinez. Eden Hazard also picked up an injury in the 1-0 victory.

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What has been said?

"We will take 48 hours now to assess the situation of the two players (De Bruyne and Hazard)," Martinez told reporters. "We go back to Belgium now and they will have scans on the injuries tomorrow.

"It's too early to say how they are doing. With Kevin, it's the ankle - he couldn't really turn in the second half. With Eden it's the muscle, but we have to wait for a diagnosis."

De Bruyne's injury woes

The 29-year-old has had a career marked by relatively frequent periods out injured. During the 2020-21 campaign with Manchester City, for example, he missed several matches early in the year because of a hamstring problem.

Late in the season, meanwhile, he spent a couple of fixtures on the sidelines because of muscular problems but was fit in time to feature in the 1-0 loss to Chelsea in the Champions League final.

In that encounter against the Blues, he suffered a facial fracture which saw him face a race against time to be fit for the Euros. Indeed, he missed the opening 3-0 win over Russia but was able to make his return off the bench when Belgium were ailing against Belgium, playing a key role as they turned the game around to win 2-1.

Subsequently, he featured in a 2-0 win over Finland, in which he picked up an assist.

There is no indication of how long De Bruyne might be out for, but his influence on Belgium is certain.

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