Belgium head coach, Marc Wilmots, told reporters on Wednesday that Vincent Kompany injured his groin in training and will miss Thursday’s match against South Korea at the World Cup.
Vincent Kompany has had his groin issues, and throughout the World Cup he was forced to miss several practices.
The Manchester City man was present for Belgium’s two games against Algeria and Russia, in which he remained adamant and led a strong defensive line to victories.
On Wednesday he trained for about 25 minutes at the World Cup stadium late in the day, but had to pull out to avoid further damage, according to Wilmots.
Considering Belgium has already sealed their spot in the next round, Wilmots is possibly just taking precaution to rest his star defender ahead of their last group stage matchup against South Korea. Belgium just needs a tie to secure first place in their group.
If for some reason they lose to South Korea, a loss by Algeria would also solidify Belgium as the number one spot heading into the round of 16.
South Korea has a slim chance of making the round of 16 but can do so with a hefty win against Belgium and an Algerian draw/loss.
There are further injury concerns for Belgium as Wilmots mentioned that another defender, Thomas Vermaelen, is being treated for his hamstring troubles. Look for the Arsenal man to be benched ahead of Thursday afternoon’s game as well, as Wilmots will need a rejuvenated defense heading into the round of 16.
Belgium verse South Korea on Thursday afternoon at 4:00pm
