Kevin De Bruyne says that his heavy involvement in the international break was not the reason he was on the bench for Manchester City at Norwich.
The Blues midfielder had been in scintillating form going into the game, scoring one and making three assists for Belgium in the 4-0 win away to Scotland in midweek.
So it was quite a shock when the midfielder was among the substitutes as Pep Guardiola took his team to play the Canaries.
He was sent on as the Blues trailed 3-1 but could not spark a revival, even though Rodri pulled a goal back late in the game.
Manager Pep Guardiola hinted that he was concerned for De Bruyne, given his injury problems last season, especially after he played 166 out of 180 minutes for Belgium in international fortnight.
Guardiola instead went for llkay Gundogan – who pulled out of the Germany squad through illness – and David Silva, who has retired from international football.
But De Bruyne said that his omission from the starting line-up was just part of the natural rotation in a talented squad.
Asked if his involvement in the international break was the reason for being on the bench, he replied: “No, it changes all the time so you know sometimes you are going to sit on the bench.
“We've got so many games going on so sometimes he's going to make a change for whatever reason, you just have to take it and then if you can help the team...
“You know there's no point in saying I'm on the bench so we lost - that's not the reason.
“You know it’s going to be a difficult task at 3-1. I tried to help the team but it wasn't enough. I think we put a little pressure on them but I think they defended really well so in the end we scored too late.”
