LONDON — Robinho was set to play for Manchester City against Newcastle on Wednesday — 24 hours after the Brazilian was arrested following sexual assault allegations from an 18-year-old woman.

The 25-year-old Brazil forward was released on bail late Tuesday after being questioned by police in Leeds, where the alleged crime took place when he was partying with teammates at a nightclub in the early hours of Jan. 14.

After the prearranged meeting with police officers investigating the student's claims, the Premier League's most expensive player vowed to clear his name.

"He strenuously denies any allegation of wrongdoing or criminality and is happy to cooperate with the police if required further," Robinho spokesman Chris Nathaniel said.

West Yorkshire Police, which wasn't identifying the player, confirmed that a man had been questioned about a "serious sexual assault" and was subsequently released on bail.

Robinho is also facing an internal disciplinary procedure at Manchester City.

Days after the alleged incident at the Space nightclub in northern England, he left the club's training camp in Tenerife, Canary Islands, without permission to return to Brazil for a week, citing an "important family matter."

Manager Mark Hughes plans to fine his star player over the sudden exit. Robinho has scored 12 goals since joining City from Real Madrid in September for a British record transfer fee of euro42.5 million (then $62 million).

"Robinho will be treated in exactly the same manner, given the circumstances, as any other player at Manchester City," Hughes said Tuesday, discussing his unexplained trip to Brazil. "Everybody knows that — there's no special case here. Given a similar circumstance with any other player here they would expect to be treated in a similar manner.

"That needs to be made clear."

Robinho, who lives near Manchester with his partner, Vivian, and 1-year-old son, Robson Junior, flew back from Brazil on Sunday and was in training the following day.

Robinho is central to City's bid to end years of mediocrity and he had hoped to be joined by Brazil teammate Kaka last week until a deal with AC Milan collapsed. He denied claims that Kaka's failure to join City would prompt him to leave.

City is in 12th place in the Premier League.

"If we can get a couple of wins under our belt then we can be in the top 10 at the weekend before anybody else kicks off," Hughes said. "That's the aim. We're making steady progress and we all feel in the second half of the season that we will be stronger."

There have been a spate of allegations of sexual assault against Premier League players in recent years. Enjoying massive salaries, the highly paid players are big spenders in clubs and restaurants.