Lukaku and Hazard miss Italy match due to muscle injury
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez announced that Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard will miss Italy's match in Turin to determine the third place in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday due to "muscular overload".
After losing to France in the Nations League semi-final on Thursday, Belgium will play European champions Italy at the Juventus Stadium, and will try to grab third place without the two top scorers in its list.
"Romelo Lukaku suffers from muscle overload, and the same applies to Eden Hazard," Martinez told a news conference.
"They are not in the best condition to play. They will leave the national team camp with this problem, and I don't know how long it will take for them to recover."
Martinez confirmed that Lukaku will return to Belgium, not to his club Chelsea, and insisted that there is no problem with the striker's return to his country before the rest of the squad.
"Obviously there is a great understanding between the medical staff on both sides, and we want to do the best thing for the player. Every decision is taken in agreement with the club," said the Belgium coach.
Belgium tops the FIFA world rankings, but could lose its place if it loses to Italy in Turin.
"We've been number one for three years, and we want to keep number one, and that's our goal constantly," Martinez said.
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