Belgium replaces the injured De Bruyne by including a young duo

Belgium used two players to replace captain Kevin De Bruyne, who will miss two European Championship qualifiers against Austria and Estonia after being injured in the Champions League final last Saturday.

Johan Bakayoko and Aster French joined the first team, coming from the under-21 team, according to what the Belgian Federation announced today, Monday.

Belgium will play Austria next Saturday, then play in Estonia’s hospitality on June 20.

This is the second time that Bakayoko, the Eindhoven striker, has joined the Netherlands squad, but it is the first time for his colleague Franch, the Milan player.

De Bruyne, who would have captained Belgium in both Group F matches, suffered a hamstring injury during Manchester City’s victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday.