Youri Tielemans was ruled out of Belgium's World Cup quarter-final against Spain due to injury moments before kick-off
Youri Tielemans picked up an injury ahead of Belgium's World Cup quarter-final against Spain
Youri Tielemans picked up an injury ahead of Belgium's World Cup quarter-final against Spain(Image: (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images))
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Aston Villa star Youri Tielemans was a late withdrawal from Belgium's starting line-up to face Spain in their World Cup quarter-final clash because of an injury. He was set to captain his nation in the knockout clash, but he has been replaced by Hans Vanaken.
Just 15 minutes before kick-off, the BBC confirmed that Tielemans would be unable to feature, having been notably absent from the warm-up routine.
BBC lead commentator Steve Bower revealed: "Well I understand that Youri Tielemans has been withdrawn from the Belgium side at the very last minute and that Hans Vanaken will come in.
"Tielemans did not play any part in the warm-up, it was a bit weird, I haven't got it 100% confirmed yet, but my understanding is that he won't play and Hans Vanaken will be in that defensive midfield role, so very, very late change."
The Belgian Football Association made it official shortly afterwards, posting on X: "Following an injury during the warm-up, Youri Tielemans is replaced in the starting XI by Hans Vanaken."
Bower subsequently suggested it could be a hamstring problem, with the 29-year-old seen on the bench in the opening minutes of the match.
The setback compounds Belgium's concerns while also proving a worry for Aston Villa, particularly after team-mate Andre Onana suffered an ACL rupture during the last-16 triumph over the USMNT.
Losing Tielemans and Onana for the start of the upcoming campaign would be a major blow to Villa's midfield with the latter unlikely to return until mid-2027.
Unai Emery was forced to contend without Boubacar Kamara for the second half of the 2025/26 season after he suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier this year.
Given these issues, Villa will almost certainly need to strengthen in midfield this summer but currently all the talk at Villa Park is over the potential exit of Morgan Rogers.
Morgan Rogers in action for England
Morgan Rogers has dominated Aston Villa transfer talk
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Arsenal have been strongly linked with a move for the 23-year-old but he is currently focused on England's World Cup campaign and is also intent on just getting better.
He said: “Showing it in glimpses and spells is all nice and well, but you’ve got to be able to do it consistently," he explained.
“I look at players in the room, in the training ground, like Harry Kane, Jude, they’ve done it for five, six, seven, eight years consistently, and that’s the difference from a good player to a great player.
“That next level, I want to take that step, I want to be in those conversations with the best players in England, I want to be in those conversations of the best players in Europe.
“I’ve still got a long way to go and a lot of learning to do and a lot of development, but I think I’m on the right path of doing that.”