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Match Preview: De Bruyne fit to play for Belgium against Denmark

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Belgium playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is fit to play against Denmark on Thursday and make a much-anticipated entry into the European Championship, coach Roberto Martinez said. 

De Bruyne suffered a double facial fracture in last month’s Champions League final, missing Belgium’s build-up to Euro 2020 and their first Group B game against Russia on Saturday, when they posted an impressive 3-0 victory. 

“He is medically fit. He has the green light to be in a match situation,” Martinez told a news conference on Wednesday. 

“Now, it is a question of seeing how long Kevin can play and how we can use the two games we have in five day to get him up to full fitness. 

“I’ve been very pleased with the progress he has made and every day he makes a big difference. 

“I could add Axel Witsel is in the same situation and it’s a little different for Eden Hazard because he was already involved in the friendly against Croatia and the game against Russia,” he added. 

“We want every player to be up to 90-minute fitness in the two games we have ahead,” Martinez added.

Belgium’s final group game is against Finland in St Petersburg on Monday. 

De Bruyne, 29, broke his nose and an eye socket after a clash with Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger as Manchester City lost the final on May 29. He underwent surgery five days later and spent a week recovering at home before joining up with the Belgian squad last week. 

Witsel, 32, is set for a surprise return after tearing an Achilles tendon in January while playing for Borussia Dortmund. 

After undergoing surgery, he was told it would be nine months before he could play again, but Martinez said Witsel’s disciplined rehabilitation has allowed him to return way ahead of schedule. 

Hazard, 30, had an injury-plagued season at Real Madrid but was used as a substitute against Russia and showed some of his old sparkle in a 20-minute cameo. 

The Danish Football Association has called on UEFA to change its procedures following the collapse of midfielder Christian Eriksen in their Euro 2020 match against Finland and the subsequent decision to resume the game. 

The Danes were offered the chance to restart the match the same evening or at 1200 midday on the following day. 

Despite being clearly shaken up, they resumed the match and lost 1-0, but coach Kasper Hjulmand and his players have since said they would have preferred not to have played. 

“It was a wrong decision and completely untenable that the players had to be on the field so soon after the horrible experience,” DBU chairman Jesper Moller said in a statement on Wednesday. 

“That is a situation players and coaches should not be put in, because it is not and should not be their decision.” 

Eriksen suffered a heart attack on the pitch and was taken to hospital where he is now recovering. 

UEFA has come in for sharp criticism from former Danish internationals Peter Schmeichel and Michael Laudrup, with the latter saying the choice of resuming on either Saturday or Sunday was not a choice at all. 

“We now want an evaluation of the entire decision-making process so that we can get all the relevant facts and information on the table,” Moller said. 

“We must look at a change in the rules to ensure that we are never in the same situation again. We are ready to present a resolution to UEFA,” he added. 

In a statement to Reuters, UEFA said it “treated the matter with the utmost respect for the sensitive situation and the players. It was decided to restart the match only after the two teams requested to finish the game on the same evening”. 

The Danes face Belgium in their second Group B game at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on Thursday. 

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