VINCENT KOMPANY has been told to prove his fitness or forget about the World Cup.
That is the stark warning from Belgium boss Roberto Martinez four months before the start of the finals in Russia.
It’ been another season dogged by injuries for the 31-year-old Manchester City skipper.
Kompany has made just 12 appearances this season – but significantly his absence has not hindered City who are still in with a shout of an historic quadruple.
He got through 90 minutes in the comfortable Champions League first leg win at Basel last week.
The Belgian with 75 caps for his country may have until the end of the current campaign to convince Martinez he is fit to take his place in the 23-man squad for Russia.
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The defender pulled out of last October’s World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Martinez said: “Vincent is and always will be a leader.
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“But he is a footballer above all. And if he is not fully fit and able to compete for a place, then there is no point in taking him.
“He will no longer be able to go to Russia. I will only include players who can play in my squad.
“He has played a full 90 minutes twice recently, and that is a good sign. I don’t yet know who will be in my squad for the finals.
“But it is interesting for me to see that he always gets back to his former level whenever he returns from injury. He never seems rusty.
“You look at him each time and you’d think that he had played the previous seven games.
“That is incredible, and important for a major tournament.”
Belgium’s first game in Group G is against Panama in Sochi and their final game is against England in Kaliningrad on June 28.
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