The Manchester City ace won a race against time to be fit for the competition but might have had his tournament cut short
Kevin De Bruyne has limped out of Belgium's Euro 2020 clash with Portugal.
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 came onto the field in his place.
De Bruyne was apparently suffering from an injury to his lower leg, although there has been no confirmation of what the issue is.
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.