Vincent Kompany and Mousa Dembele have been ruled out of Belgium's World Cup Qualifier against Estonia.Roberto Martinez had insisted there was no injury to Manchester City captain Kompany, despite the defender missing Belgium's 1-1 draw with the Netherlands on Wednesday. However, the Belgium head coach has confirmed the defender, along with Tottenham's Dembele, will not be available for Sunday's visit of Estonia. Kompany was named in Belgium's starting XI for the first time in a year against the Netherlands but, after warming up with the rest of the squad, was replaced by Watford's Christian Kabasele moments before the game.Martinez said he "did not want to take any risks" when explaining his decision to leave Kompany out of the friendly, but was confident he would be fit for the Group H clash this weekend.The 30-year-old has made just two Premier League appearances for Pep Guardiola's Manchester City this season due to injuries and last played in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester United in the EFL Cup in October. City have an away trip to Crystal Palace on November 19 following the international break, before a Champions League tie against Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League three days later, and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has already provided injury concern after limping out of Chile's draw with Colombia.Mousa Dembele started for Tottenham in the north London derby against Arsenal last weekendTottenham's involvement in the Champions League also leaves them with a busy schedule after the international break, with Spurs set to face West Ham and Monaco within four days. Dembele has been an important part of Mauricio Pochettino's side this season and started in the north London derby draw with Arsenal.
No comments:
Post a Comment