Lukaku out of Belgium squad against Turkiye, major doubt to face Italy
RIJEKA, CROATIA - JUNE 02: Romelu Lukaku of Belgium celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the international friendly match between Croatia and Belgium at Stadion HNK Rijeka on June 02, 2026 in Rijeka, Croatia. (Photo by Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images)
Former Napoli striker Romelu Lukaku is out of Belgium’s Nations League match with Turkiye, and is also in doubt to recover in time to face Italy in the final game.
It is a three-way race for the two qualifying spots in Nations League Group A, with France leading on 10 points, followed by Italy on seven and Belgium six.
The final rounds of the tournament see Italy vs. France and Turkiye vs. Belgium on Thursday, then Belgium vs. Italy and France vs. Turkiye on Sunday evening.
Belgium’s national team announced this afternoon that Lukaku is not making the trip to Turkiye due to a hip injury, so will remain in Brussels to continue treatment.
The medical staff are “doing everything possible to have him fit for Sunday,” read a statement on their social media channels, but he remains a major doubt to face Italy this weekend too.
A final decision will be made on Friday, but no other player will be called up to bolster the attacking options for Belgium.
It would be a heavy blow, as the centre-forward is his country’s all-time top scorer with 94 goals in 135 senior caps.
Spending time in Serie A with Inter, Roma and most recently Napoli, he was sold to Fenerbahce in August.
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