Manchester City left sweating over Kevin De Bruyne’s fitness after he withdraws from Belgium squad

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Manchester City left sweating over Kevin De Bruyne’s fitness for crunch Arsenal clash after the playmaker withdraws from the Belgium squad after hobbling off against England

  • Kevin De Bruyne has pulled out of the Belgium squad for their match with Iceland
  • The midfielder hobbled off the Red Devils’ 2-1 defeat to England on Sunday
  • The Manchester City man is now a doubt for his side’s clash with Arsenal
  • City take on Mikel Arteta’s side having lost their last outing against the Gunners 

Kevin De Bruyne has withdrawn from the Belgium squad to face Iceland on Wednesday and returned to Manchester City.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

Kevin De Bruyne has pulled out of Belgium's clash with Iceland on Wednesday through injury

Kevin De Bruyne has pulled out of Belgium’s clash with Iceland on Wednesday through injury

The midfielder hobbled off in the second-half of Belgium's 2-1 defeat to England on Sunday

The midfielder hobbled off in the second-half of Belgium’s 2-1 defeat to England on Sunday

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, though 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.’

De Bruyne is now an injury doubt for Manchester City's fixture with Arsenal on Saturday night

De Bruyne is now an injury doubt for Manchester City’s fixture with Arsenal on Saturday night

Manchester CIty boss Pep Guardiola (above) already has Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero out

Manchester CIty boss Pep Guardiola (above) already has Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero out

Missing De Bruyne would be a huge blow to City’s chances on Saturday against the Gunners, with Pep Guardiola’s side not picking up a win since their first Premier League match of the season against Wolves on September 21. 

De Bruyne’s team were thrashed 5-2 at home to Leicester City in shocking fashion before being held by Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United in their last Premier League outing.  

City lie in 14th place in the top-flight table and lost their last match against Mikel Arteta’s side – a 2-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat at Wembley in July. 

Guardiola’s side already have injury issues at the top end of the pitch, with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus long-term absentees.

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