Italian media: De Bruyne’s injury condition is not optimistic and it may be difficult to return to the game in the short term
6686 Sports, October 26th. Although Naples defeated Inter Milan 3-1 in this round of Serie A and achieved an important victory, the team's injury wave continues. The latest player to fall is Belgian midfielder De Bruyne. In the 33rd minute of Naples' game against Inter Milan, he was forced to leave the field in tears due to a hamstring injury in his right leg. Just before that, he had just personally scored a 12-yard penalty to help the team take the lead.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, De Bruyne suffered a serious injury moments after taking the penalty kick. At that time, referee Mariani ruled that Armenian player Mkhitaryan violated Di Lorenzo and gave Naples twelve yards. Surprisingly, the team's top 12-yard scorer was Brazilian wing forward Neres. He had even picked up the ball and was preparing to take the penalty. However, coach Conte suddenly changed his mind and sent Politano as a "messenger" to inform the two to adjust the order. In the end, De Bruyne stood in front of the twelve yard point and calmly scored the penalty, helping Naples take a 1-0 lead.
But the celebration after the goal came to an abrupt end. De Bruyne immediately stopped in pain after hitting the goal, holding his hamstring muscle on the back of his right thigh tightly with his hands, his expression in extreme pain. The teammates originally rushed to celebrate, but immediately realized that something was wrong. Unable to continue playing, De Bruyne asked for a substitution on the spot and left the field in tears. He could not even support his right leg normally. The injury looked quite serious.
For Conte, this is undoubtedly adding insult to injury. The team is currently facing a serious personnel crisis, with many core players such as Lukaku, Hoylen, Lobotka, Meret and Rahmani missing due to injuries. Now that De Bruyne is missing, the team's midfield innovation and organizational capabilities will be greatly affected.
"Gazzetta dello Sport" said, who would have thought that a temporary change of the twelve-yard arrangement would cost the team such a heavy price? The extent of De Bruyne's injury still needs to wait for the results of further medical examinations, but judging from his reaction on the court, it may be difficult to return to the game in the short term.
