NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Napoli has had its fears confirmed with the news that Kevin De Bruyne has a severe lesion to his thigh muscle and will be sidelined for several months.
De Bruyne immediately pulled up and clutched the back of his right thigh after converting a penalty to set Napoli on the way to a 3-1 win over Inter Milan on Saturday.
The former Manchester City midfielder looked distraught and had to be helped off the field by two medical staff. He was later seen sitting on the bench with his thigh heavily strapped and crutches alongside him.
“Following the injury that occurred during the match against Inter, Kevin De Bruyne underwent instrumental tests at the Pineta Grande Hospital and that showed a high-grade lesion to the femoral bicep in his right thigh,” Napoli said in a statement on Monday.
“The player has already started the rehabilitation process.”
The Serie A team did not give an indication of when De Bruyne is expected back but it is a similar injury to that sustained by Napoli and Belgium teammate Romelu Lukaku during a preseason friendly. Lukaku will likely be back in January.
The penalty took De Bruyne’s tally to four goals in eight Serie A matches. It also helped send Napoli joint top of the league but it could have come at a hefty cost.
Fellow midfielder Stanislav Lobotka is also out injured while Frank Anguissa will be with Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations between December and January.
The news will also be a blow to Belgium which has crucial World Cup qualifiers coming up next month. De Bruyne has netted six goals in his past five matches for his country.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
Kicks or Treats: Dance for Free Week at CY Danceworks! Read moreKicks or Treats Dance for Free Week at CY Danceworks
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.