As the late great Tom Petty said: “the waiting is the hardest part.” Manchester United are on pins and needles awaiting a fitness update on their high flying striker Romelu Lukaku. They’ll know one way or another come Saturday when the team sharing their Red Devils nickname posts the team sheet for the World Cup Qualifier against Bosnia.
Having already qualified for Russia 2018, it’s a match with little meaning for the Belgians, and one that wouldn’t even feature Lukaku anyway, regardless of his fitness level.
Tuesday brought news that Lukaku missed training with the national team due to an ankle injury. However, a MRI scan revealed “no fracture or structural damage.”
It’s apparently the same injury that he suffered in training with United this past Friday, and it came very close to keeping him out of action the very next day.
Sources told ESPN FC: “he needed pain-killing injections before he was passed fit to face Crystal Palace 24 hours later. At one point, Anthony Martial was put on alert that he would probably start instead.”
However, he ended up playing all 90 minutes and scored in the 86′ in the 4-0 rout of Crystal Palace. Since the weekend though he has not trained with his team while on international duty with Belgium Manager Roberto Martinez saying that:
“Romelu has worked separately. We will make a decision about him on Friday, but I think it will be difficult, even though we continue to hope.”
“We will wait for as long as possible to make a decision, and we also keep in touch with Manchester United. They can be sure we will not push him too far.”
The latest updates indicate that there is a small chance Lukaku will play on Saturday, as Belgium have refused to rule him out as of yet. United would obviously like Lukaku to rest and convalesce as he’s extremely critical to their fortunes. The ยฃ75 million summer transfer window addition has 11 goals in 10 games for United, and Old Trafford boss Jose Mourinho has recently made it clear that he cannot rest his former player at Chelsea much until Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns.
Mourinho’s latest comments on the situation via the Manchester Evening News:
โBelgium is Robertoโs responsibility and itโs his decision to play him or not to play him. I cannot, professionally speaking, say, โDo this or do that.โโ
United’s next game is in nine days at arch-rival and fellow league title contender Liverpool.
Paul M. Banks runsย The Sports Bank.netย and TheBank.News, which is partnered withย News Nowย and Minute Media.ย Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times,ย NBC Chicago.comย andย Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly toย WGN CLTV andย Chicago Now.
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