Romelu Lukaku goes AWOL as Napoli row escalates and club hint at punishments in statement

Former Manchester United and Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has been recovering from an injury during the international break

Napoli have hinted at punishing Romelu Lukaku after he failed to show up for training on Tuesday. The former Manchester United, Chelsea and Everton striker has been recovering from an injury during the March international break - a decision which has caused tension in Italy.

Lukaku has endured an injury-plagued campaign and did not return to competitive action until January after suffering a thigh problem during pre-season last summer. Belgium's all-time leading goalscorer has managed just seven appearances for Napoli this season - playing just 64 minutes for the Serie A champions.

And the club have now released a statement on Tuesday after the 32-year-old failed to show up at the club's training ground.

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It said: "SSC Napoli announces that Romelu Lukaku did not respond to today's call-up for the resumption of training.

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"The Club reserves the right to decide whether to take appropriate disciplinary action, as well as whether to continue the player's activity with the squad on a permanent basis."

Lukaku has recently revealed the strain he has gone through in a social media post while dealing with his injury lay-off. The forward was forced to withdraw from Belgium's squad for this month's fixtures against the United States and Mexico.

He said: "This season has been a lot for me, from dealing with the injury and the personal loss. I know there has been a lot of noise about my situation in the last few days and it's important to clarify the whole situation.

"The truth is the last few weeks I wasn’t feeling right physically and I had it checked out while I was in Belgium and it showed me that there was an inflammation and liquid on my hip flexor muscle next to my scar tissue. It is the second problem I had since coming back early November.

"I chose to do the rehab in Belgium so I can help the team when called upon. There's nothing I would love more than to do than play and win with my team. But right now I have to make sure I am 100% because I haven't been recently and it took a toll mentally.

"It's been a lot this year. But in the end, I will get there and help Napoli and the national team to their respective objectives when called upon. That's all I want."

The striker spent several years in England across United, Everton, West Bromwich Albion and two spells at Chelsea before returning to Inter Milan in 2022.

Lukaku has just one year left on his Napoli contract, and has been linked with a move back to Belgium with Anderlecht.

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