Belgian winger Jeremy Doku was able to attend the birth of his son in London on Monday and will return to his national team on Tuesday.
Doku’s wife, Shireen, gave birth to a son named Praise on Monday, the Belgian soccer federation said in a statement attributed to team doctor Brahim Hacene.
The Manchester City star had missed Belgium’s 0-0 draw against Iran on Sunday due to illness.
“As he had already been receiving appropriate medical treatment for several days, he was able to fly without medical risk to be with his family during this very special moment,” Hacene said in the statement.
“He was accompanied by my colleague, Dr Brecht De Coninck. Everything went perfectly, and the mother, father, and baby are all doing wonderfully. Jeremy will rejoin the squad (Tuesday) evening in Seattle.”
Doku heard criticism from Belgium fans when he said he would plan to return to Europe for his wife, who was due in the second week of July — coinciding with the World Cup quarterfinals.
“If you ask me what I want, my answer is that nobody wants to miss the birth of their first child. But I also know that football involves many other considerations,” Doku told Reuters at the time. “I know the federation supports its players and understands their situations. We’ll see what we can do.”
Belgium (0-0-2, 2 points) trails Egypt in Group G by two points and concludes group-stage play against underdog New Zealand on Friday in Vancouver. A win would all but guarantee Belgium a place in the knockout stage, and a draw would not rule out their chances to move forward as one of the eight-best third-place teams.
