Belgium captain Youri Tielemans says the Red Devils will “fight until the end” for stricken team-mate Amadou Onana, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the World Cup win over the United States last night.
Onana limped off 21 minutes into Belgium’s 4-1 victory in Seattle and looked visibly upset when he sat on the bench during the second half wearing a brace on his right knee.
Reports this morning confirmed the tall midfielder had suffered an ACL injury and is now expected to miss up to eight months.
The news is a crushing blow for the player and his club side Aston Villa.
His Villa midfield partner Tielemans said: “We are all there for him and will support him. We want to keep fighting for him until the end.
Tielemans hopes Onana will remain with Belgium
Onana must now weigh up whether to remain with the squad in the United States or return to England to recuperate.
Tielemans added: “Amadou is a great personality within our group and gets on with everyone, so we are definitely going to miss him. Hopefully he can stay with us.”
It was cruel blemish on an otherwise perfect night for Belgium following the scandal surrounding the availability of USA striker Folarin Balogun.
Romelu Lukaku scored Belgium’s fourth goal in injury time and held up a Belgium shirt with Onana’s name on the back.
The 24-year-old, who joined Villa from Everton for £50million in 2024, made 25 Premier League appearances for the club last season, scoring two goals.
He was a substitute as Unai Emery’s men won the Europa League with a 3-0 defeat of Freiburg in Istanbul, coming on in the 66th minute.
