Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne withdraws from Belgium squad

Kevin De Bruyne has withdrawn from the Belgium squad to face Iceland on Wednesday and returned to Manchester City.

The Royal Belgian Football Association cited a fitness issue after the City playmaker was substituted after 73 minutes of Sunday’s UEFA Nations League loss to England at Wembley.

The 29-year-old will now be assessed ahead of City’s Premier League clash with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

A tweet from the Belgium team’s official account read: “@DeBruyneKev returned to his club. He couldn’t be fit enough to play against Iceland.”

The nature of De Bruyne’s problem has not been specified.

Belgium manager Roberto Martinez played down any potential issue after the 2-1 defeat to England, saying the player had been taken off as a precautionary measure.

“I wouldn’t say it was an injury,” Martinez said. “It is too early to say, there was a feeling that he wasn’t right – it was more precaution that we had to avoid (something), he wasn’t 100 per cent.”