Italian champions Napoli have opened the door to disciplinary action against striker Romelu Lukaku after he failed to report for training despite being recalled by the club.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Napoli confirmed the Belgian forward did not honour a request to return to the club’s training ground, raising questions over his immediate future with the team.
“Napoli can confirm that Romelu Lukaku did not respond to today’s call to return to training,” the club said.
“The club reserves the right to consider taking the appropriate disciplinary action, as well as to determine whether the player will continue to train with the team for an indefinite period.”
Lukaku had earlier withdrawn from Belgium’s international fixtures in the United States, where they faced the U.S. and Mexico in World Cup warm-up matches, citing injury concerns. However, reports in Italy suggest he opted to remain in Belgium for rehabilitation rather than return to Napoli as instructed.
Responding to the controversy, the 32-year-old striker defended his decision, insisting his absence was medically necessary.
“The truth is the last few weeks I wasn’t feeling right physically,” Lukaku said. “It showed that there was an inflammation and liquid on my hip flexor muscle next to my scar tissue. Since it is the second problem I had since coming back early November, I chose to do the rehab in Belgium so I can help when called upon.”
He also reaffirmed his commitment to the club, dismissing any suggestion of disloyalty. “I could never turn my back on Napoli, never. There’s nothing more I would love to do than play and win with my team. But right now I have to make sure I am clinically 100%,” he said.
Lukaku has had difficulty staying healthy this season despite scoring 14 goals to help Napoli win the Serie A championship the previous year. He missed a significant portion of the first half of the season due to a hamstring injury, and since his return in January, he has only managed one league goal in five substitute appearances.
Napoli is now in third position in Serie A, seven points behind leaders Inter Milan, and they are getting ready for Monday’s pivotal matchup with AC Milan, who are in second place.
