Amadou Onana’s World Cup took a brutal turn on July 6 when the Aston Villa midfielder crumpled to the ground while defending against Christian Pulisic in Belgium’s round-of-16 clash with the United States. He immediately grabbed his right knee, and the sight of him limping toward the locker room told the story before any medical report could.
Belgium won the match 4-1, but the celebrations were muted. Coach Rudi Garcia described the injury as likely serious, with early assessments pointing to significant knee damage. The question now is whether Onana will be available for Belgium’s quarterfinal against Spain.
What happened on the pitch
The injury occurred just 19 minutes into the match. Onana was tracking Pulisic’s run when his right knee buckled. He went down hard and stayed down.
Garcia, speaking after the match, didn’t sugarcoat it. He acknowledged the injury appeared serious and cast doubt on Onana’s availability going forward in the tournament. As of July 7, no official ACL diagnosis has been confirmed.
