Belgium without captain Tielemans for October World Cup qualifiers

Belgium captain Youri Tielemans will not be available for their World Cup qualifiers in October as he recovers from a calf injury.

Rudi Garcia’s side host North Macedonia on October 10 before travelling to Wales on October 13 as they look to move to the top of Group J.

Tielemans made a great start to his captaincy of the national team during the September international break, leading Belgium to 6-0 wins against both Liechtenstein and Kazakhstan.

However, the 28-year-old midfielder has missed each of Aston Villa’s last five fixtures with a calf problem and is unlikely to feature for Unai Emery's side until after the break.

Amadou Onana, who has not featured for Villa since August 23, has been included in Garcia’s squad, along with Kevin De Bruyne and Axel Witsel.

Jeremy Doku’s strong form has seen him retain his spot in the squad, while Michy Batshuayi and Leandro Trossard are also set to feature across the next two fixtures.

Belgium squad: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Manchester United), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig), Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting Lisbon), Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton), Koni De Winter (AC Milan), Brandon Michele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge), Arthur Theate (Frankfurt), Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Charles Vanhoutte (Nice), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Axel Witsel (Girona), Michy Batshuayi (Frankfurt), Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Malick Fofana (Lyon), Dodi Lukebakio (Benfica), Lois Openda (Juventus), Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).