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Romelu Lukaku continues to struggle with that tear in his thigh muscle. Restarting too early delayed his recovery. The World Cup does not seem in danger yet, but it is increasingly becoming a race against time for the top scorer of the Red Devils.
Ludo Vandewalle
Romelu Lukaku (29) was sidelined on Tuesday when his Inter played and won against Barcelona. The striker will also have to watch on Sassuolo’s field on Saturday. Next Wednesday in the Champions League – again against Barcelona – and the weekend after that – against Salernitana – he is not there yet.
Lukaku suffered a tear in the thigh muscle during training at the end of August. As a result, he already missed five league matches at Inter and three matches in the Champions League. Also in the Nations League matches of the Red Devils, the 102-time international against Wales and the Netherlands was missed. Because Inter wanted him back quickly and he was also eager, he resumed training too soon. That’s why he’s going to be sidelined for a little longer now.
Need to match
On November 23, the Red Devils will play their first game at the World Cup against Canada. In principle, there is still time enough to get to matches, but Lukaku is at his best when he can play many matches. And the more he plays, the more he scores, the more confidence he gets.
In the best case scenario, the big striker will be able to play up to eight more matches before the World Cup, including the Red Devils’ friendly match against Egypt on November 18 in Kuwait. At Inter, he could make five more appearances in the league and twice in the Champions League.
Don’t take too long
The medical staff of the Red Devils is in permanent contact with colleagues from Inter. National coach Roberto Martinez is kept perfectly informed and is not yet too worried about the World Cup. But it shouldn’t last too long, of course. A Belgian physiotherapist from Lieven Maesschalck’s practice traveled to Milan to continue to provide the best possible care for the Belgian top scorer of all time (68 goals).
When asked whether Martinez would take two or three deep strikers to Qatar, the national coach answered on RTBf on Monday: “We must above all hope that Romelu will be completely fit. I’m hopeful. But we should not force his comeback.”
At the World Cup, Lukaku has to play three games in nine days in the group stage.
