Romelu Lukaku breaks silence and sheds light on his absence

After days of speculation and reconstructions, Romelu Lukaku has decided to break his silence. The Belgian striker posted a long letter on his social media to clarify his position in the tug-of-war with Napoli, which began last Thursday. On that occasion, after leaving the national team’s training camp, Big Rom did not show up at Castel Volturno.

“This season has been really heavy for me, between the injury and personal mourning (his father passed away a few weeks ago, ed.). I know there has been a lot of talk in the last few days about my situation, and it is important to clear everything up: the truth is that in the last few weeks I was not feeling well physically, and I had checkups while I was in Belgium. It turned out that there was inflammation and fluid in the hip flexor muscle, near the scar tissue, since it’s the second problem I’ve had since I came back in early November, I chose to do the rehabilitation in Belgium so I can help when I’m called up.”

I think many of you saw the interview I did in Verona…I could never turn my back on Napoli, never. There’s nothing I want more than to play and win with my team … but right now I have to make sure I’m clinically 100 percent, because recently I haven’t been and that’s also had a mental impact. It has been a difficult year … but in the end I will make it and help Napoli and the national team achieve their goals when I am called upon. That’s all I want.”

In the letter, Lukaku also recalls two particularly significant moments: the passing of his father and the interview he gave after Verona-Napoli. It was precisely at the Bentegodi stadium, after scoring the decisive goal in the final minutes, that the Belgian had let loose a sincere outburst about his personal problems (“Losing my father was heavy but I’m moving on for my children, my brother and Napoli”), and then reaffirmed his bond with the Azzurri: “Before I got here I was dead: last year we did something good, this year it’s difficult but we have to look ahead and do everything to get as high as possible.”