Roberto Martinez fears Romelu Lukaku will miss Belgium's remaining Nations League games after the Chelsea striker suffered an ankle injury in the 4-1 defeat to the Netherlands on Friday.
The 29-year-old started for Belgium in Brussels despite his poor end to the campaign with the Blues, but in the 23rd minute was involved in a collision with Man City defender – and Chelsea academy graduate – Nathan Ake. Lukaku attempted to continue after treatment but had to be replaced at the half-hour mark.
Lukaku injured the same ankle back in October and speaking in the aftermath of Belgium's defeat, Martinez was not hopeful Chelsea's club-record signing – who is understood to want to return to Inter Milan this summer – would be able to feature in the upcoming games against Poland and Wales.
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"It doesn't look good," Martínez told Belgium newspaper HLN. "He twisted his ankle. We have to wait 48 hours for the MRI scan, but I would be surprised if he is still in action in the coming games. That is my feeling."
The injury may bring the curtain down on a disappointing 2021/22 campaign for Lukaku. He returned to Chelsea last summer in a deal worth £97.5million and was expected to be the missing piece of the jigsaw as the Blues attempted to hunt down Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
He started well with four goals in his opening four games, but Lukaku's form then dipped and he was kept out for a month with an ankle injury sustained against Malmo in the Champions League group stage. Shortly after making his return, and scoring against Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion, his now-infamous interview with Sky Italia was released.
Thomas Tuchel dropped Lukaku from the Chelsea squad for the 2-2 draw with Liverpool, but he quickly returned to the side only to struggle for form, although the striker did score in the semi-final and final at the Club World Cup. However, then came his seven-touch appearance against Crystal Palace.
That performance resulted in Tuchel turning to Kai Havertz and Lukaku spent much of the remainder of the campaign on the Chelsea substitutes' bench. Yet publicly, the Blues head coach offered words of reassurance to the 29-year-old.
"For strikers, things can be turned around in minutes, in moments," Tuchel said in April "Whole careers can be upside down and in any direction. But always as a striker, you can have a chance to put things into your favour."
Since the end of Chelsea's campaign, however, it's become clear Lukaku is intent on leaving Stamford Bridge for the second time in his career – and his preferred destination is understood to be Inter Milan.
It's been reported that Lukaku’s lawyer, Sebastien Ledure, has been tasked with brokering a deal that would see the Belgium international return to San Siro less than a year after his departure. But that looks unlikely at present with Chelsea wanting close to £20million for a loan fee in addition to a significant option to buy next summer.
