MANCHESTER - Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has told Belgium they cannot pick defender Vincent Kompany for their Euro 2016 qualifiers against Andorra and Israel, even though he has been named in Marc Wilmots' squad.
Pellegrini will not try to stop his captain from travelling to link up with his national team, but is adamant that there is no way he can feature in either match.
Kompany has missed City's last four games with a calf problem he sustained in the 2-1 Champions League defeat to Juventus and will sit out Saturday's home match against Newcastle.
Pellegrini said he was not sure whether the centre-back would be available again for City's next game, against Bournemouth on Oct. 17.
Belgium need three points from their last two games to book a place in Euro 2016, but Pellegrini said in a news conference: "Vincent cannot play.
"I can't ask him not to travel. If the national team ask him, he must go. But he cannot play. He is an important player. He must be with his teammates. That was not a problem for him to go to the national squad.
"I hope that he can return after the international break, but I am not sure. I hope that after 15 days he will be ready."
This is our squad list for Andorra & Israel! #TousEnsemble #andbel #belisr pic.twitter.com/ys6788Q5Nn
- BelgianRedDevils (@BelRedDevils) October 2, 2015
Kompany has suffered from a series of injuries, but Pellegrini believes he could spend less time on the sidelines than in recent seasons as a result of a different fitness and training regime.
"It is a problem of course that in the last years there are a lot of games he cannot play because of different muscle injuries," the manager said. "In the way he works, I hope in the future he will have less."
Belgium squad:
Goalkeepers: Mignolet, Gillet, Sels
Defenders: Alderweireld, Boyata, Cavanda, Denayer, Kompany, Lombaerts, J. Lukaku, Meunier, Vertonghen
Midfielders: Bakkali, Chadli, De Bruyne, Fellaini, E. Hazard, Kums, Mertens, Nainggolan, Witsel
Attackers: Depoitre, R. Lukaku, Origi