Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne’s chances of playing against Italy in the quarterfinals of the European Championship is in doubt as the duo picked up injuries and were forced off the pitch during their 1-0 win over Portugal.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Belgium will lock horns against Italy in the quarterfinal on Friday
• Belgium has won all three of its group matches
• De Bruyne hurt his ankle after being tackled from behind in the 48th minute

Belgium captain Eden Hazard and star mid-fielder Kevin De Bruyne will likely miss the team’s quarterfinal clash against Italy in Munich on Friday, after suffering injuries in Belgium’s 1-0 win against Portugal on Sunday.

The injuries might hurt Belgium’s chances of winning the European Championship.

De Bruyne hurt his ankle after being tackled from behind by Portugal mid-fielder João Palhinha. He immediately asked to be replaced, with Dries Mertens coming in for him in the 48th minute.

Belgium captain Eden Hazard also had to leave with an apparent muscle problem. He was replaced by Yannick Carrasco in the 87th.

De Bruyne’s left ankle got severely twisted when Palhinha came in hard from behind to stop his run near midfield in one of the first plays of the second half. The Manchester City player was in pain and slowly walked off the field with a little limp. Palhinha was shown a yellow card for his tackle.

De Bruyne had already missed Belgium’s first game at Euro 2020 against Russia while recovering from a facial injury sustained in the Champions League final. He played in the second half of the team’s second group game, scoring the winning goal against Denmark. He started in the third, against Finland, and substituted in stoppage time.

Hazard struggled with injuries all season with Real Madrid and also had been gradually returning to top condition during Euro 2020. He came in as a second-half substitute against Russia and Denmark, then started in the final group match against Finland.

Both players were injured before the start of the tournament but had recovered well to help Belgium finish top of their group and remain vital to the team’s hopes of advancing at Euro 2020.

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said tests will be done after the team returns to Belgium on Monday.

“We will take 48 hours now to assess the situation of the two players. We go back to Belgium now and they will have scans on the injuries tomorrow,” Martinez said at his post-match news conference