Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders will miss Belgium’s clash with Italy after suffering a quadriceps injury.
Voetbal Belgie report that Penders and Leandro Trossard have been left behind in Belgium after both suffering injuries in training.
They explain that Belgium boss Mark van Bommel will be without Trossard and Penders for the game, adding to his list of absentees. That already included Thibaut Courtois and Jérémy Doku.
Quadriceps injury
The Chelsea goalkeeper is reportedly suffering from a quadriceps injury. He has been left in Belgium to continue his rehabilitation at the national training centre in Tubize.
There is currently no indication of how long he will be absent. Nor do Belgium currently know if he will be available for Monday’s clash with France at the King Baudouin Stadium.
Quadriceps injuries can take anywhere from one to three weeks to heal for mild strains. Severe tears or ruptures requiring surgery can take three to six months to heal.
They are usually assessed in three grades. Grade 1 is a mild strain; Grade 2 is a moderate strain and Grade 3 is a severe tear or rupture. There is no indication as yet that Penders has suffered anything more than a Grade 1.
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| Maxence Lacroix | Crystal Palace | £52m |
| Geovany Quenda | Sporting | £41.5m |
| Marco Palestra | Atalanta | £47m |
| Valentin Barco | RC Strasbourg | £34m |
| Pep Chavarría | Rayo Vallecano | £17m |
| Emiliano Martínez | Aston Villa | £7.8m |
| Danny Welbeck | Brighton | £5.1m |
| Jordan Henderson | Brentford | Free |
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Opportunity missed
The injury could prove to be the longest of his career to date, though. He’s been rather blessed in that department. To date he’s missed just ten days and two games with an ankle sprain and a bruise.
It will come as a blow, though. With Courtois not competing in the Nations League and Matz Sels deciding to retire, this was his chance to perhaps stake a claim.
Instead, the Chelsea goalkeeper now faces a race to be fit over this international break. It would not be surprising to see him pull out of the Belgium squad entirely and return to Chelsea for treatment over the coming days.
