De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad

 

Belgium's midfielder Kevin De Bruyne

Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco named his squad on Friday that will take on Italy and France in the Nations League, with Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne missing out through injury.

The 33-year-old midfielder had left the question of his international future somewhat up in the air but told Tedesco that he would still be available for selection for the next two years.

"I had a long telephone talk with Kevin where, first of all, now he is injured but in general he is very motivated to continue to be with us and to play also the World Cup," said the Italian coach.

"He asked me to be out for this camp and for the November camp to take care of his body."

Napoli star Romelu Lukaku's name was also missing from the list of 23 as Tedesco decided to rest the striker and allow him "to work individually" as he settles into life in the southern Italian club, which he joined in late August.

Belgium will play Italy in Rome on October 10, before travelling to Brussels to face France four days later.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Koen Casteels (Al Qadsiah/KSA), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest/ENG), Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig/GER)

Defenders: Sebastiaan Bornauw (Wolfsburg/GER), Timothy Castagne (Fulham/ENG), Zeno Debast (Sporting Portugal/POR), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Bruges), Wout Faes (Leicester/ENG), Matte Smets (Genk), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Francfort/GER), Koni De Winter (Genoa/ITA)

Midfielders: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta/ITA), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa/ENG), Orel Mangala (Lyon/FRA), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa/ENG), Arne Engels (Celtic/SCO), Malick Fofana (Lyon/FRA)

Forwards: Johan Bakayoko (PSV/NED), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City/ENG), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla/ESP), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig/GER), Cyril Ngonge (Naples/ITA), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal/ENG)

By AFP