Belgium winger Jeremy Doku has revealed he coughed blood and battled severe chest pain during the 2026 FIFA World Cup before temporarily leaving the team’s camp for the birth of his first child.
Doku, who plays for Manchester City, made the revelation in a video shared on his YouTube channel on Saturday, describing the difficult period as one of the toughest moments of his career.
According to him, his health problems began after Belgium’s match against Tunisia when he developed an uncontrollable cough despite recovering from an earlier illness.
“I started coughing every second. I couldn’t say a word without coughing,” he said.
The 24-year-old said he later experienced an excruciating pain in his chest after attending church with the team.
“Suddenly, here in my chest, I felt a pain that I’ve never felt before. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe in.”
Despite receiving medication from Belgium’s team doctor and travelling with the squad to the United States, Doku said his condition worsened.
“I couldn’t train properly that week. I was quickly tired and my coughing was still not gone. I even started coughing blood at one point.”
The Belgian international disclosed that another severe episode forced him to seek emergency medical treatment in the early hours of the morning.
“I went to the emergency. We did all the tests and we saw there was liquid in my lungs or something. I asked, ‘How did that happen?’ The doctor said it was uncommon.”
Doku said he continued taking medication but remained in pain, making it impossible to train or perform at his best.
“I spoke to the coach and told him, ‘Impossible. I cannot even run without feeling a heavy pain.’”
While dealing with the health scare, Doku received life-changing news when Belgium’s team manager woke him at 6 a.m. to inform him that his wife had gone into labour weeks before her expected due date.
“The team manager told me, ‘Your wife, her water broke.’ I was shocked because she wasn’t due until July.” Punch
