Roberto Martinez has confirmed that Romelu Lukaku has left the Belgium training camp and will return to Chelsea after suffering from ‘muscle fatigue’ following the 3-2 loss to France.
The 28-year-old scored to give the Red Devils a 2-0 lead over Les Bleus, but the world champions came roaring back in the second half to overturn the deficit and snatch a place in the UEFA Nations League final.
That defeat means that Belgium must face Italy in a third-place playoff on Sunday afternoon, but they will do so without Lukaku, who is returning to England early to recover from an injury he’s sustained on international duty.
Martinez confirmed that both Lukaku and Eden Hazard will play no further part for their countries in this current round of fixtures, saying the striker had ‘muscle fatigue’, while admitting that he is not in ‘the best condition to play.’
“Romelu Lukaku is suffering from muscle fatigue, same as Eden Hazard. They’re not in best conditions to play. They’re leaving the national team camp due to these problems – I don’t know how long it will take.”
This will come as a major concern for Chelsea fans, with Lukaku now facing a race against time to be fit for their trip to Brentford on Saturday afternoon. The Blues have made a solid start to the new season – along with their forward, who has scored three goals in six games.
The £97.5m summer signing is crucial to Thomas Tuchel’s plans this year, having allowed Tammy Abraham to leave for AS Roma in the summer. Chelsea are now relatively light in the striker department, and cannot afford to lose Lukaku for any serious period of time.