Manchester City forward Kevin De Bruyne has admitted that he has little recollection of the 2021 Champions League final owing to a concussion he sustained during the game. With his team losing 1-0 to Kai Havertz’s first-half goal Bruyne collided with Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger and was hauled off just before the hour mark. The Blues defender was chastised for his role in his injury, but De Bruyne said that he had no grudge against the Rudiger in an interview with HLN.
“I have seen the images back. He just wanted to block me, not to cause an injury. For me, it was not a red card. I was concussed, so the final is all a blur,” he said. Throughout the summer this would not be De Bruyne’s only injury setback. He was injured in the round of 16 against Portugal and sustained an ankle injury after overcoming an eye socket condition to enter Belgium’s Euro 2020 squad.
De Bruyne then went on to describe the remarkable lengths he took to prepare for the Red Devils’ quarter-final match against Italy. “If I speak for myself: I came in with an injury to my eye socket and after three matches I left with an even more serious ankle injury,” he explained.
“I knew immediately that my ankle was bad after that tackle against Portugal. I played against Italy with two injections. If I had known beforehand what my ankle would have been like afterwards, I would not have played.”
De Bruyne was speaking ahead of Belgium’s UEFA Nations League semi-final against France, which will take place on Thursday. The winner of that game will face either Italy or Spain in the final, which will be played in the other semi-final.
