Romelu Lukaku is closing in on a return to action after weeks of injury rehabilitation, handing both Napoli and Belgium a major lift ahead of the final Serie A games and next month’s World Cup.
Romelu Lukaku is finally nearing a return to competitive action, with the Belgian striker expected back at Napoli this week after an extended rehabilitation spell in his homeland that had cast serious doubt over his World Cup availability.
According to reports in Italy, the 32-year-old will rejoin Napoli on Monday after spending the last five weeks in Belgium recovering from persistent hamstring and hip problems under the supervision of his personal physiotherapist.
His absence had become a source of tension behind the scenes. Lukaku failed to report back to Naples immediately after the March international break, choosing instead to remain in Belgium for treatment, a decision that reportedly led Napoli to fine him 20 percent of his monthly salary.
The striker did briefly return to the club’s training centre in April before being granted permission to continue his recovery abroad, but the episode clearly left a sour taste with head coach Antonio Conte, who publicly admitted his disappointment over the lack of direct communication from the veteran forward.
Conte revealed that he had expected at least a conversation or acknowledgment from Lukaku during the incident, suggesting the manager felt personally slighted by how the situation was handled while trying to keep Napoli focused during a crucial stretch of the campaign.
Now, however, the emphasis shifts back to football. Napoli still have three Serie A matches left to close out the season, and while Lukaku has barely featured, making only six substitute appearances and scoring once against Verona in February, his availability would at least hand Conte another experienced option in attack.
More importantly, his improving fitness comes as a huge relief for Belgium. The Red Devils were increasingly concerned that their all-time leading scorer could miss the World Cup after not featuring in recent warm-up fixtures due to those recurring muscular complaints.
With 89 international goals in 124 appearances, Lukaku remains Belgium’s main attacking threat heading into Group G, where they face Egypt, Iran and New Zealand. Even if he is short of match rhythm, simply having the country’s record marksman back in contention could significantly alter Belgium’s hopes of making a deep run this summer.
