De Bruyne to miss rest of Chelsea tour

22 July 2013 14:24

Chelsea midfielder Kevin de Bruyne was forced to leave the Premier League club's tour of Asia due to injury on Monday.

De Bruyne suffered knee and ankle injuries while scoring during the first half of Sunday's 4-1 win over a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur.

The 21-year-old was taken off on a stretcher but was able to join his team-mates on the bench for the final quarter of the match at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said initial assessments suggested the injury was not as bad as first feared.

But De Bruyne underwent further tests in Malaysia on Monday and it was decided he would return to London, ruling him out of the final match of the Asia tour in Jakarta.

"Leaving to London tonight. Fully medical check up there. Feeling ok. Hopefully a good result after the check up," De Bruyne tweeted.

Chelsea added on Twitter: "Kevin De Bruyne will return to London overnight for an MRI, after which we'll have a clearer picture of his injury."

Following Thursday's match with BNI Indonesia All Stars, Chelsea will travel to the United States and play Inter Milan in Indianapolis on August 1.

De Bruyne spent last season on loan at German outfit Werder Bremen following his 2012 move to Stamford Bridge from Genk.

But Mourinho is keen to integrate younger players into his squad and De Bruyne is likely to feature regularly for the Blues once he recovers from this setback.

Source: AFP