« Little hope » of seeing Lukaku play again before the World Cup

« It saddens us because he worked a lot to be there but we will wait for him after the break, » he added.

Lukaku, spearhead of Inter and the Belgium team, again felt pain in the hamstrings of his left thigh last weekend, less than a week after returning to the pitch at following a previous injury at the end of August.

Returning to Inter this summer after a mixed season at Chelsea, the 29-year-old striker has only been able to make four Serie A appearances this season and play only ten minutes in the Champions League. With the three new matches he will miss until the break, this will make a total of sixteen absences in 21 matches this season with the Nerazzurri.