Napoli medic explains Lukaku ‘very serious injury’ and provides other updates

CASTEL DI SANGRO, ITALY – AUGUST 14: Romelu Lukaku of Napoli lies on the pitch after being injured during the pre-season friendly match between Napoli and Olympiacos at Stadio Teofilo Patini on August 14, 2025 in Castel di Sangro, Italy. (Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)

Napoli chief medic explains the extent of Romelu Lukaku’s ‘very serious’ injury and the decision to forego surgery, with updates on Amir Rrahmani and David Neres too.

The Partenopei had an ideal start to the new season as reigning Serie A Champions, winning both their games so far, but also had a few too many injury setbacks.

The biggest was over the summer, when Lukaku sustained a thigh muscle tear during a pre-season friendly against Olympiacos, ruling him out for four to five months.

Napoli do not expect Lukaku back until December

“We spoke yesterday, his recovery is going well and on track for the predicted timetable,” Napoli chief medic Doctor Raffaele Canonico told Radio CRC.

Lukaku flew back to Belgium for specialist consultation and there decided against surgery.

“We should clarify that Romelu suffered a very serious tear to the rectus femoris muscle, which also damaged one of the insertional tendons. We had two options: conservative treatment and surgical. The player decided to follow the first, considering the recovery time is pretty similar.

“He is in Belgium with the authority of our medical gruppo, so I am in continual contact with his therapists and my colleagues working with him there. Within a couple of weeks, one of our therapists will be in Belgium to see his progress and treatment in person. It is all under control and supervised by us.”

Napoli and Antonio Conte’s gruppo were criticised for the number of muscular injuries sustained over the last few months, but Canonico assures it is inevitable.

“There is still this myth of zero injuries, but anyone who plays sport is destined to have a few issues. There are some genetic elements too, but so many different factors that can contribute to injuries.

“We had 15 muscular injuries, but other teams had 40, so really we are statistically lower than two thirds of the other Serie A sides when it comes to these setbacks.”

There was another injury during international duty, as defender Rrahmani limped off playing for Kosovo.

“He had a minor trauma, a low-grade lesion of the femoral bicep. He has already started rehabilitation treatment. Muscular injuries can have a prognosis varying between two and 12 weeks, depending on various factors. This is a minor one, so I think he’ll miss a couple of games.”

David Neres pulled out of the squad for the most recent match against Cagliari and was not even on the bench.

“He had a small strain the day before in training, so seeing as there were two weeks ahead without games, we didn’t want to risk it against Cagliari. It was minor and would take a couple of days to sort out.”