Why Belgium leave Thibaut Courtois behind for Euro 2024?
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| Photo: @thibautcourtois |
The 32-year-old missed most of the campaign with an ACL injury sustained in pre-season and then tore his meniscus in March just as he was closing in on a return to action.
Courtois only made his first start of the season in May and since then, he has only played four more times, rotating with Andriy Lunin for the La Liga giants.
READ MORE: Barcelona passed up chance to sign teenage Thibaut Courtois for €3m
He is expected to feature in Saturday's Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund, despite being omitted from Belgium's provisional squad for the European Championship.
Belgium boss Domenico Tedesco revealed the reason for leaving the first-choice goalkeeper out in a press conference after the announcement.
He was honest and clear. He knows his body the best, and it's different to play every three or four days during a tournament.
So, when taking all this into consideration, we didn't think he was ready for the Euros.
Of course, we now plan with the players that are able to play.
In the absence of Courtois, Tedesco has picked VfL Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels, Nottingham Forest shot-stopper Matz Sels and Luton Town's Thomas Kaminski.
Belgium will face Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine in Group E at Euro 2024 with their opening game being played on June 17.
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