Napoli: De Bruyne chooses surgery, skips conservative treatment | OneFootball

Kevin De Bruyne has decided not to wait. After the new injury to his right hamstring suffered during Napoli-Inter, the Belgian star will undergo surgery tomorrow morning in Belgium.

Napoli, De Bruyne has chosen surgery: no conservative therapy

The news was confirmed by La Gazzetta dello Sport, which reports the player’s final decision: no conservative therapy, but the same surgical route already taken in 2023.

“After the injury, he had no doubts,” writes the newspaper. “He preferred to act immediately, drawing on his past experience and aware that only immediate surgery can guarantee a full recovery ahead of next season.”

De Bruyne’s 2025, therefore, ended at the 33rd minute of Napoli-Inter, just after he had scored the penalty for 1-0. A moment that marks the boundary between his return to the top and a new, painful setback.

The comparison with Lukaku: two different paths for the same injury

De Bruyne’s injury is practically identical to the one suffered by Romelu Lukaku, but the medical management of the two cases has been opposite. While the Belgian striker chose conservative therapy for a lesion to his left hamstring, the Napoli midfielder opted for the operating room, preferring a more drastic but potentially definitive approach.

A decision that confirms his rational approach and his desire to return to peak condition, even at the cost of a longer recovery.

The expert’s analysis: “It’s crucial to identify the exact point of the lesion”

To assess the severity of the injury, Sky Sport interviewed Fabrizio Tencone, a doctor specializing in sports medicine and director of the Isokinetic center in Turin.

“We still have little information,” Tencone explains. “We know it’s a significant lesion: De Bruyne left the field supported and with the help of crutches. However, what really matters is the exact point of the muscle tear. The hamstring is long, starting under the glute and reaching down to the knee. If the lesion coincides with the one already operated on in the past, it can complicate the prognosis and affect recovery times. If instead it’s in a different area, the process could be more straightforward.”

According to the expert, the margin of risk is high, but the promptness of the decision to undergo surgery “could favor a more stable recovery in the long term.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.