Marouane Fellaini, Christian Benteke and Simon Mignolet withdraw from Belgium squad through injury

According to reports the Crystal Palace striker is suffering from a minor knee issue while the Liverpool goalkeeper has a hand problem

Liam Twomey
Thursday 06 September 2018 11:43 EDT
Comments
UEFA Nations League: How does the competition work?

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Marouane Fellaini, Christian Benteke and Simon Mignolet have withdrawn from the Belgium squad to face Scotland and Iceland through injury.

All three men have returned to their clubs for further assessment, though Liverpool confirmed that Mignolet is expected to be available for Saturday’s match against Tottenham.

Fellaini was included in Roberto Martinez’s squad on the back of his first start of the season for United in last weekend’s 2-0 away win over Burnley in the Premier League.

Benteke has started all of Crystal Palace’s opening four league matches but is yet to score, and has found the net just twice in 20 appearances in 2018.

(AFP/Getty Images)

The exact nature of the injuries was not disclosed by the Belgian Football Association, who also declined to clarify whether or not they will call up replacements.

According to reports in Belgium, Benteke is suffering from a minor knee issue, while Mignolet is dealing with a hand problem.

Belgium travel to Glasgow to take on Scotland in a friendly at Hampden Park on Friday, before travelling to Reykjavik for their Uefa Nations League opener against Iceland.

The games will be Martinez’s first opportunity to work with his players since July, when Belgium wrapped up an impressive World Cup campaign in Russia with a convincing 2-0 victory over England in Saint Petersburg to secure a third-place finish.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in