Belgian national team head coach Roberto Martinez has explained that Inter striker Romelu Lukaku has been left out of the Red Devils squad for the international break so that he can focus on his recovery from a thigh injury.
Speaking at a press conference, as reported by FCInterNews, Martinez explained his rationale for not calling up the 29-year-old, who he expects to be available to full training with his club within a week based on the recovery timeline.
Lukaku has been out for Inter in their past five matches, and he will also miss this weekend’s Serie A clash with Udinese, their final fixture before the international break starts.
No risks have been taken with the Belgian’s fitness, and he has worked slowly to recover from the thigh injury he picked up after last month’s clash with Lazio.
As Martinez explained, Lukaku will continue to work on recovering and then regaining his best form and fitness with Inter during the break, and then hope to be at his best for the club fixtures after the break, followed by the World Cup in November.
“Romelu is making good progress,” the Red Devils coach updated. “His recovery is going well. He’ll probably be back at Inter’s disposal within a week.”
“With Romelu it was important not to take risks, because a relapse of this type of injury would be very risky in view of the World Cup,” he noted.
