3 Premier League Players Drop Out of Belgium Squad to Face Scotland & Iceland

Three Premier League players have withdrawn from Belgium's squad for their friendly against Scotland and their UEFA Nations League debut against Iceland.

Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke, Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and Marouane Fellaini of Manchester United have all returned to their clubs.

This was confirmed by the official Twitter page of the Belgian national team, although they did not give any official reason for the withdrawals of the three players.

They did indicate earlier in the week that Mignolet had missed a training session through injury, while fellow goalkeeper Koen Casteels left the camp for the birth of his baby.

Uncapped Anderlecht goalkeeper Davy Roef trained with the squad instead and it was confirmed that he would stay with the team following Mignolet's withdrawal.

Belgium are facing their first matches since the World Cup, when they achieved a best-ever finish for their country by beating England to claim the tournament bronze medal.

Fred Lee/GettyImages

Benteke was left out of Roberto Martinez's squad for the finals in Russia and although Simon Mignolet travelled to the tournament, he did not see any action.

Fellaini was a more important member of the team, featuring in five of Belgium's seven matches and scoring a crucial equaliser against Japan in the last 16.

Belgium face Scotland at Hampden Park on Friday before travelling to Reykjavik to play Iceland in the inaugural Nations League on Tuesday. Their group also contains Switzerland, who host Iceland on Saturday.