A physiotherapist who has worked with Romelu Lukaku for several years has spoken to the Belgian press after the striker was ruled out for months earlier today, easing Napoli fears by suggesting he is “100% sure” that the forward will “return to his old level, without any problems.”

Lukaku has been ruled out for a minimum of three months as the Neapolitans scramble to find a replacement in the closing stages of the transfer window. Earlier in the window, Antonio Conte’s side signed target man Lorenzo Lucca from Udinese but now speculation links the Scudetto winners with a move for Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee or Rasmus Hojlund.

Lukaku physio: ‘He’ll be disappointed… he is addicted to football’

Speaking to Belgian outlet HLN, Lieven Maesschalck, who worked with Lukaku in a physio capacity for years, revealed that “He has known our centre well for a long time. We started working with him when he was just 16 or 17. Romelu is a great athlete who demands a lot from his body due to his physical style of play. So it is not surprising that this happens. Be careful: you can work hard to prevent these injuries but it isn’t always possible to avoid them. There are factors you cannot control.”

Maesschalck was then asked how Lukaku will react to this set-back, to which the physio said “He will be very disappointed because he is addicted to football. But knowing Rom, with his mentality, he will do everything he can to return as soon as possible. We will have to protect him from himself because he tends to set unrealistic goals. That is his nature. He wants to push himself further but we have to respect nature’s timing.”

“He will definitely return to his old level, there won’t be any problems. I am 100% sure of that.”