Penders is expected to miss Belgium's Nations League clash with France on Friday due to injury.
Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders is struggling with a thigh injury while on international duty, according to reports in Belgium.
The 21-year-old has retained his spot in the Belgium national team after their 2026 World Cup campaign that ended in the quarter-finals in the summer.
While Penders, who just turned 21 in July, spent the whole tournament as an unused backup goalkeeper, with Real Madrid and former Blues shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois being the clear number one, the situation is different now in the national team.
Courtois decided to take a break after a conversation with newly appointed head coach Mark van Bommel, leaving the number one spot up for grabs. Penders is competing for the starting goalkeeper role with Manchester United’s Senne Lammens and RB Leipzig’s Maarten Vandevoorrdt.
The four Nations League fixtures, against Italy, France (twice), and Turkiye, will say a lot about Belgium’s goalkeeper pecking order, but Penders may not even be in the picture, at least for Friday’s clash with Italy.
Penders' reported thigh injury
According to Voetbal Belgie, the Chelsea goalkeeper has not travelled to Italy for the Nations League match due to a quadriceps injury. Instead, he and Besiktas’ Leandro Trossard, who is nursing a heel injury, are staying behind at the national team training centre in Tubize to recover.
Belgium’s FA, the RBFA, has not yet confirmed Penders' injury, so the extent of the reported injury remains unclear. Van Bommel also said nothing about the reported injury during his latest press conference on Thursday.
Penders, who is the second-choice goalkeeper at Chelsea behind Emiliano Martinez, was on the bench in Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat to Brentford last week. This suggests he likely hadn't sustained the injury at that point.
However, having been given the cup goalkeeper role, he last featured for the Blues in the comeback win over Leeds United earlier this month, so it is hard to say whether he was fully fit while on the bench in the last few weeks.
Chelsea are already dealing with several fitness problems, including Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro’s injuries, which led to their withdrawals from the England and Brazil squads, respectively. Reece James, Marco Palestra, and Moises Caicedo are also staying at Cobham to recover from injuries during this international break.
Xabi Alonso’s side will be back in action in a home Premier League fixture against Bournemouth on October 10. Penders, in particular, will be looking forward to Chelsea’s Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Liverpool on October 28.
