Kevin De Bruyne is set to miss the rest of 2025 after suffering a serious hamstring injury while scoring a penalty for Napoli.
The Manchester City legend joined the Italian champions over the summer and has quickly settled in, with Antonio Conte’s side sitting top of Serie A again.
Napoli picked up a big 3-1 win over Inter Milan on Saturday, with De Bruyne opening the scoring from the penalty spot on 33 minutes.
The Belgian powered home the spot-kick but then immediately grabbed his hamstring and started limping.
His teammates were confused, with Scott McTominay on the scene, firstly celebrating but then looking concerned for the goal-scorer.
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The 34-year-old was replaced by Mathías Olivera and it was clear he was seriously concerned, with Napoli now confirming that he has suffered a serious injury.
A statement from the Serie A champions on Monday read: ‘Following the injury sustained during the match against Inter, Kevin De Bruyne underwent tests at Pineta Grande Hospital, which revealed a high-grade tear to the biceps femoris in his right thigh.’
The exact length of the midfielder’s absence has not been predicted by Napoli, but he is expected to be sidelined for a number of months and will not play again in 2025.
The Belgium international is not expected to miss the rest of the season but will be out for a significant portion of the campaign.
Speaking after the win, which also saw McTominay and Frank Anguissa score, Conte said: ‘We won despite the difficulties we faced before and during the match.
‘We’re on a journey with many injuries, Kevin was also injured today, but we responded with great character.
‘Inter came to kill us on a footballing level, but we’re not ready to give up. It’s probably not a lucky year, but we have to react like we did tonight. We have no desire and no intention of giving up the fight.
‘Inter were coming off a good run of results, while we were struggling to get there. But despite everything, we played an excellent match and the victory was legitimate and deserved.’
McTominay, referencing the shock 6-2 defeat to PSV in their previous outing, added: ‘It was a fantastic evening. We played like a top team. We knew we had to put in a great performance, and we did it.
‘There was a great reaction after the bad Champions League night, this is important because we showed that we are a strong and very united group.’
