October 10, (THEWILL) – Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard will miss Sunday’s UEFA Nations League third-place play-off against Italy owing to “muscle fatigue,” according to head coach Roberto Martinez.
In Belgium’s 3-2 semi-final loss to France on Thursday, Lukaku scored the first goal and played the full 90 minutes, while Hazard clocked 74 minutes on the pitch.
Unfortunately, when Martinez’s team plays the European champions at the Juventus Stadium by 2 pm local time, they will be missing the country’s top two all-time goal scorers.
“Romelu Lukaku is suffering from muscle overload, the same as Eden Hazard,” Martinez revealed at a press conference on Saturday. “They’re not in (the) best conditions to play. They’re leaving the national team camp due to these problems I don’t know how long it will take for them to recover.”
Martinez also announced that Lukaku will be returning to Belgium rather than Chelsea, a move that the London club has agreed to.
“Obviously there is an excellent understanding between the two sets of medical staff and we want to do the best for the player. Every decision is also made in agreement with the club,” he added.
Chelsea’s next match is on October 16 against Brentford and it is unclear if Lukaku will be available for the London club as the Belgium boss did not specify how long the 28-year-old would be out for.
Belgium’s world number one FIFA ranking could be affected if they lose to Italy on Sunday in Turin. “We have been first for three years and we want to keep it,” Martinez said. “Tomorrow evening against Italy, against the European champions, we want to test ourselves and learn.”
On his own part, Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea’s coach, will undoubtedly hope Lukaku’s absence is just a precautionary measure. The striker has started every Chelsea match since his debut against Arsenal, with his only substitute appearance in nine games coming against Aston Villa in the EFL Cup.
In his first four games for the club, he has scored four goals, helping them get off to a strong start in the Premier League and Champions League.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
