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One of Belgium's most important stars has hinted that his days with the national team could be over
Inter’s Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku has stated his desire to retire from the international team soon, citing the need for more time to recover from injury as his main reason.
Lukaku looking to step down from international duty
The 30-year-old forward has been a part of the Belgian senior national team set-up since 2010, after making his debut as a 17-year-old.
He has gone on to enjoy individual success at international level, reaching 106 caps and becoming his country’s all-time top scorer with 72 goals.
Despite the success, Lukaku believes he could be nearing the end of his international career after suffering a serious injury and not being able to recover optimally as he was rushed into international duty at the World Cup.
Speaking during the One For All documentary, Lukaku said, “What people don’t know is that I tore my hamstring behind the knee in August while training for the game against Cremonese.
“It was the first time I stood still in six months, and I couldn’t really play. That really made me think. Maybe I need to rehabilitate more, so I can continue to play longer.”
Lukaku also believed that the recent injuries were as a result of being burdened with senior football for so long and starting at an early age as he did at 17.
“That’s the downside of starting young,” he said, “At some point, you need to call it a day. I will not beat around the bush, that’s when I think hmm… I’m turning 30 this summer. It’s been 13 years. Some players don’t make 13 years. I’ve got 100 caps, I scored so many goals. I’ve done all these things.”
Lukaku hoping to take better care of his body as he enters the twilight of his career
The Belgian forward also noted that his situation was not peculiar to just him as fellow early-starter Eden Hazard has suffered the same fate.
He questioned the unending stream of games that footballers have to go through, and acknowledged that at his age, a break once in a while during the international games could do his health a lot of good.
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He said, “One of my partners Eden, he has similar injuries. I love football, but is this much football good for the body? And for your mental health? Maybe those three or four days in September will do me good.
“Injections, treatments to keep playing, I’ve done it all and I carry the consequences to this day. It makes me think.
“I know I’m 102kg and sprinting all the time, I get kicked and such, but I am back in training the next day. I think, do I need to drop anything?”
Lukaku has not made an official announcement yet, but with these feelings, it appears that it is only a matter of time before he and other Belgium stars call it quits with the national team.
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