Man City star De Bruyne off inured after just 35 minutes of Champions League final

Kevin De Bruyne’s Champions League final came to an early end — again.

The Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne had to be substituted with an injury during the first half of the final against Inter Milan on Saturday.

It was the second time in three seasons the inspirational Belgian has had to come off early in the biggest club game in soccer.

De Bruyne came off after 35 minutes when the score was 0-0 seeming having hurt a right thigh muscle or hamstring. He was replaced by Phil Foden.

At halftime, De Bruyne walked from the team dugout to the tunnel with a clear limp and a heavily-strapped bandage around his thigh.

Two years ago, De Bruyne had to come off after an hour when he sustained a serious facial injury in a final that Man City lost 1-0 to Chelsea.

Then, De Bruyne suffered a fractured nose and an orbital fracture to his left eye socket in a collision with the shoulder of Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger.

De Bruyne was in tears when he left the field in Porto in 2021. This time he walked quickly off the field to take his place in the team dugout.

The Belgium star sat on the ground after 30 minutes, appearing to have hurt his right thigh muscle or hamstring. It seemed to happen when De Bruyne had a right-foot shot on the Inter Milan goal, his first of the game, which was easily saved.

There was a hush around the Atatürk Olympic Stadium as the 72,000 spectators waited for the outcome of a brief medical assessment. De Bruyne continued playing for four more minutes until signaling to the Man City bench that he had to stop.

Man City’s star forward Erling Haaland comforted his teammate with a consoling left arm around the shoulder. Earlier, De Bruyne’s perfectly angled and weighted pass had sent Haaland into space in the penalty area for a powerful left-foot shot that Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana blocked with his left arm.

As De Bruyne walked toward the touchline, Man City coach Pep Guardiola came on to the pitch to greet his player. Guardiola patted the dejected De Bruyne’s lowered head.

De Bruyne, who turns 32 later this month, has never won a European title in club soccer or for Belgium.

He placed third in voting for the Ballon d’Or award for 2022, awarded in October to Karim Benzema with Sadio Mané in second place.

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