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Euro 2016: Belgium suffer more defensive woes

Published

8 years ago

May 31, 2016

Euro 2016: Belgium suffer more defensive woes

After losing Vincent Kompany, Belgium will head to Euro 2016 without Nicolas Lombaerts and Derrick Boyata after the duo were ruled out through injury on Monday.

The Manchester City defender was forced to withdraw after suffering a muscle strain during his side’s 1-0 loss to Real Madrid on May 4, and the latest news complicates matters for coach Marc Wilmots.

Lombaerts’ place on the team has been in doubt for some time now due to a thigh muscle tear, while Boyata pulled up with the same problem on Monday.

“Even with all these injured players I still have Toby Alderweireld, Jason Denayer, Thomas Vermaelen and Jan Vertonghen,” Wilmots stated. “It’s not too bad after all.”

The Belgian national team will continue to train in Genk ahead of their final warm-up fixtures against Finland and Norway.

Wilmots and his side will open their Euro 2016 adventure against Italy on June 13 in Lyon. The other Group E match that day pits Republic of Ireland against Sweden at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.

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