Belgium left sweating over the fitness of Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard for Euro 2020 quarter-final clash with Italy after both men were forced off injured in bruising win over Portugal
- Kevin De Bruyne was forced off with an ankle injury after being fouled
- Eden Hazard was substituted near the end as he clutched his hamstring
- Roberto Martinez faces an anxious 48-hour wait over the pair’s fitness
- The former Everton boss said the tackle on De Bruyne was ‘really bad’
- The Spaniard praised his team’s concentration after their narrow win
- Opposite number Fernando Santos bemoaned his side’s wastefulness
- Find out the latest Euro 2020 news including fixtures, live action and results here
Belgium face an anxious 48-hour wait for news on the injuries suffered by Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard in last night’s win over Portugal in Seville.
De Bruyne limped out of the game with an ankle injury early in the second half after being fouled by Joao Palhinha shortly before half-time. Hazard followed towards the end after pulling up clutching his hamstring.
Both are key players for Belgium and have only started one previous game at Euro 2020 after coming into the tournament with injury issues.
Roberto Martinez consoles Kevin De Bruyne after he was forced off with an ankle injury
De Bruyne suffered the issue after a lunging challenge by Portugal youngster Joao Palhinha
Eden Hazard followed De Bruyne off the pitch late on as he clutched his right hamstring
‘We’re going to need 48 hours to find out the extent of injures,’ said manager Roberto Martinez.
‘Kevin De Bruyne is ankle, it was a really bad tackle. We don’t have a diagnosis from the medical department.
‘Eden Hazard is more muscle. We will go back to Belgium tonight and have the scans tomorrow.’
Otherwise, Martinez was delighted to see his side knock out the current holders to book a quarter-final date against Italy in Munich on Friday.
‘We scored a very good goal and then in the second half, the more momentum went to Portugal, we showed an incredible mentality,’ he added.
‘We never lost concentration in the difficult moments. This gives me incredible satisfaction because this is what a winning team needs.’
Martinez was a relieved man at the final whistle as Belgium knocked out the holders in Seville
Portugal boss Fernando Santos was full of praise for his players despite seeing them go out at the last 16 stage.
‘We’re very disappointed. We thought we could reach the final and win like 2016, that was out spirit and attitude,’ said Santos.
‘Some of my lads are crying in the dressing room, that is to be expected. It won’t be hard to get their heads up again because they played an amazing game.
Fernando Santos revealed some of his players were crying in the dressing room after the loss
‘They did everything to bring great joy to the Portuguese people. Now we’re looking forward to the World Cup.
‘The Belgians had six shots and one on target. We had 29 and couldn’t score once. We didn’t let them use their most dangerous weapons. It was a shot from outside the box by their left full-back who doesn’t even do this.
‘None of us can feel anything but pride for these players. We didn’t win but we deserved to win. No team in the world can say they are better than Portugal.’