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Romelu Lukaku will miss Belgium’s UEFA Nations League third-place match against Italy on Sunday — a game that Thibaut Courtois has rightly called absolutely pointless — after leaving the national team and returning early to Chelsea.
As confirmed by Belgium head coach Roberto Martínez, the Chelsea striker has a bit of muscle fatigue, so it only makes sense to not have play in this game. And thankfully both Belgium and Chelsea are on the same page in this case.
Romelu Lukaku has left the Belgium squad due to "muscle fatigue", says head coach Roberto Martinez.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 9, 2021
Lukaku scored a stunning goal in Belgium’s UEFA Nations League semifinal against France but couldn’t stop Belgium from blowing a two-goal lead and succumb to a 2-3 defeat to the defending world champions.
“It’s an overload. He didn’t feel 100 per cent to play tomorrow. It’s soreness in his tissue. Every decision taken involves both medical departments together for the good of the player.”
-Roberto Martinez; Source: Sky Sports
Martinez also added that ex-Chelsea player Eden Hazard has also left the national team for the same reason, which is not really surprising since Eden has faced persistent injury issues throughout his Real Madrid career. Hopefully Lukaku can avoid such concerns, especially with proper workload management.
Better safe than sorry!
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez: "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". #Belgium #RealMadrid #CFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 9, 2021
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