Napoli: What's happening with Lukaku?

Today marks exactly 2 months since Romelu Lukaku officially returned to Napoli's match lineup after a long injury, but until now, the striker who was Napoli's number one last season is still "missing."

Moreover, Lukaku scored a valuable goal in stoppage time to help Napoli narrowly win 2-1 against bottom-placed Verona on February 27. It seemed that would be a turning point for him to reclaim his number one position in Napoli's attack, but it wasn't.

What's happening?

The goal against Verona that day unleashed emotions for both Lukaku and his fans. The Belgian striker took off his shirt, raised both hands to the sky, dedicating the goal to his father who passed away in September 2025. After the match, he also cried when sharing with the media about the difficult nearly half-year period away from the pitch. Many famous players sent messages congratulating Lukaku's comeback and expressed confidence that he would contribute greatly to Napoli in the final part of the season.

But what about the results? Lukaku only played the last 7 minutes in Napoli's 2-1 win against Torino on March 6 and was on the bench for the entire match when Napoli reversed Lecce 2-1 on March 14. This means he remains outside Coach Antonio Conte's plans, despite being named as a substitute, despite Napoli struggling against opponents and desperately needing goals. The reason is that he is still not ready. Nearly 200 days away from the pitch have made the 32-year-old striker's physical condition extremely heavy, which has also been evident in the limited minutes he has played since returning. From being registered for the match against FC Copenhagen on January 20 until now, Lukaku has only played a total of 69 minutes (in 7 matches).

"Big Rom" has a bad habit that Coach Conte knows very well from when they were both at Inter six years ago, which is unhealthy eating leading to uncontrolled weight gain. This is likely the issue hindering his process of regaining his position and feel for the game, alongside the inevitable decline in fitness due to age.

Napoli really needs Lukaku

Conte certainly isn't happy about having Lukaku on the bench for the whole match either. He needs the strongest lineup and contributions from every player to hope for a miraculous turnaround in the last 9 matches of the season. Napoli is 9 points behind Inter, a very large gap, but not impossible to close as Inter is also experiencing issues during this tense period. The mandatory task for Conte and his team is to win all 9 remaining matches and see what happens. If they cannot reach the Scudetto, Napoli also needs to maintain a winning streak to compete for the runner-up position with Milan, who currently have a 1-point lead. At least, they still have the task of securing a Top 4 spot and a Champions League ticket. A 7-point lead over Juventus is a relatively safe margin, but nothing can be predicted.

The problem is that Napoli's performance is not very convincing. Since the beginning of 2026, they have only won 7 out of 16 matches across all competitions, losing 4. Six of the 7 wins were narrow victories, and 2 of those wins came only in stoppage time. Lukaku's return is eagerly awaited, at least to share the scoring burden with Rasmus Hojlund, who has had to carry the goal-scoring responsibility alone since the start of the season. Last season, his 4 goals and 2 assists in the final 9 matches greatly contributed to Napoli overtaking Inter to win the Scudetto. But this season? Sadly, the question now is whether he will start any matches from now until the end of the season.

Not only Napoli, but the Belgian national team is also eagerly awaiting the return of the striker who has scored 89 goals in 124 matches for the "Red Devils." There are less than 90 days left until Belgium's opening match at the 2026 World Cup, a major tournament that could be the last for the final representatives of this regretful golden generation of Belgian football, including Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne, his teammate at Napoli who also recently returned after a long injury.