De Bruyne sidelined for months after thigh injury with Napoli

Kevin De Bruyne will be sidelined for several months after suffering a serious thigh injury while scoring a penalty for Napoli in Saturday’s 3-1 Serie A win over Inter Milan, the club said. Scans showed a high-grade lesion to the biceps femoris muscle in his right thigh, and the 34-year-old underwent surgery in Antwerp on Wednesday; Napoli said the operation was a complete success and that he will begin postsurgical rehabilitation in Belgium.

De Bruyne opened the scoring from the spot in the first half but immediately clutched the back of his right thigh, limped from the field and was substituted. He returned to the bench with his thigh heavily strapped and crutches at his side. Napoli confirmed that diagnostic tests at Pineta Grande Hospital revealed the severe lesion and that the player had already started the rehabilitation process prior to surgery.

Napoli did not provide a precise timetable for De Bruyne’s return but the club and medical assessments indicate he will miss a significant portion of the campaign and will not play again in 2025. Several reports have placed a likely recovery window at three to five months, which would make a February 2026 comeback plausible in the...