Inter striker Romelu Lukaku admitted that he had rushed his return from injury this season and detailed the difficulties of returning to full form and fitness, after helping the Nerazzurri reach the Champions League final.
The Belgium international has endured a difficult return to the club since signing on loan from Chelsea last summer, with his 12 goals from 32 matches falling short of the prolific form shown during his first spell at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza from 2019 to 2021.
In an interview with CBS Sports following Inter‘s 1-0 Champions League second-leg win over AC Milan to secure a place in the final, Lukaku conceded that he had forced his way back from a hamstring injury too soon in order to feature in Belgium’s 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar.
Race to feature in World Cup
“When I got injured, we didn’t realise how tough of an injury it was because I’m an explosive type of player,” the 30-year-old declared.
“So when you do your hamstring, it’s very tough to come back and I forced it at the World Cup.”
Lukaku endured a miserable tournament with the Red Devils as they were sent crashing out in the group stage, but has rediscovered his scoring touch with five goals in last four Serie A matches.
The former Everton striker insisted that his return to form was down to hard work and moving beyond a second injury at the turn of the year.
“You guys could see. I was not sharp and then I had a relapse around January which cost me another month and a half and it was tough,” Lukaku added.
“I kept grinding, I kept working hard in training, and when I got the opportunity, I did the best I could for the team.”
Lukaku fighting for his Inter future
After being signed from Manchester United in 2019, Lukaku played an integral part in Inter winning the Serie A title under Antonio Conte in 2021, earning a €115 million switch to former club Chelsea that summer.
His return to the Premier League proved to be a disappointment however, with just 15 goals from 44 games, and the striker had a slow start to his second spell with Inter. After netting on his debut, Lukaku suffered a thigh injury in late August and only featured once more in Serie A in 2022.
Inter are yet to commit to signing Lukaku next season and his future remains up in the air, as the Nerazzurri consider their attacking options over the summer.
