Zeno Debast’s recovery hangs in the balance ahead of Senegal clash

Zeno Debast (22) is today partially returning to training with his club Sporting, closing in on a comeback after a thigh injury. Yet the Round of 16 tie against Senegal on Wednesday may still arrive too soon. “I am grateful to be here,” he said.

The setback occurred during a training session at Sporting, specifically on a set-piece routine. “It happened when I was shooting on goal, during a training session on set pieces. A bad moment,” Debast explained.

More than six weeks ago, Debast suffered the thigh injury at his club. The news arrived just as Belgium’s World Cup prospects were hanging by a thread. “When I received the results, it was very difficult,” he admitted. “But I took it positively and immediately started working toward my comeback. This season has been tough with injury after injury. The most important thing now is that I get back to 100 percent.”

Debast had already spent four months sidelined with a knee injury. The fresh setback, days before the World Cup, was another blow. He had been a regular starter under head coach Rudi Garcia.

Belgium ultimately took Debast to the United States for rehabilitation, aiming to be fit for the knockout phase. While his teammates trained and played, he worked in the gym. “Frustrating? I wouldn’t call it that. I’m very grateful to be here. Though it’s not easy to watch the team play,” he said.

He does not follow the match from the stands but from the dugout alongside the other unused substitutes. “That’s something positive. It’s good that I can experience it this way. It keeps me close to the group.”

“Look, if it were up to me, I’d be on the pitch tomorrow. I’m really eager to play. But again, I’m not putting any pressure on myself. Today I’ll train partially with the group for the first time. Then we’ll see what it brings and what the medical staff says.”

Debast refuses to set a firm date for his return. Secretly, he hopes to feature in the Wednesday clash with Senegal, but according to informed sources, that match may still come too early.

Marc Degryse believes Belgium must beat Senegal to consider their World Cup a success. “It’s fifty-fifty,” he said.