'There will be consequences' - How Romelu Lukaku has enraged Napoli by going AWOL in Belgium

Lukaku obviously has plenty of previous when it comes to upsetting employers, team-mates and supporters. In fact, he's long been regarded as football's most infamous mercenary, one of the most expensive players of all time in cumulative transfer fees, and yet fans of Chelsea, Inter and other clubs would tell you that his words are worthless due to his alleged total lack of loyalty.

Antonio Conte has always loved Lukaku, though. Having repeatedly tried to sign him during his coaching career, he finally got the chance to work with 'Big Rom' at Inter and turned him into one of the most effective forwards in the game. So, when Napoli made it clear that they had no intention of holding onto Victor Osimhen last summer, Conte requested that the club sign Lukaku to help replace the Nigerian, as the coach looked to restore his reputation as a serial winner following a predictably trying time at Tottenham.

President Aurelio De Laurentiis complied and, to nobody's surprise at all, the striker played a pivotal role in Napoli's 2024-25 title triumph, with 14 goals in 36 appearances.

"Everyone had written me off, they had given up on me for three years," Lukaku told the Corriere dello Sport. "Then, in the end, winning like that, with the coach who had also been written off after Tottenham, was wonderful. People had doubts about me, but I was convinced that we would do something special.”

While Napoli moved early to add to their No.9 options last summer by signing Lorenzo Lucca on loan from Udinese with an obligation to buy, the expectation was that Lukaku would continue to lead the line during the 2025-26 campaign.

However, Lukaku suffered 'a high-grade injury to the rectus femoris muscle in his left thigh' in the Partenopei's final pre-season friendly, against Olympiacos, on August 14.

It was initially thought that the centre-forward would be sidelined for four months, and it did actually look like he'd return to action in the Supercoppa Italiana just before Christmas, as he was included in the squad for the mid-season tournament in Riyadh.

Unfortunately, Lukaku's comeback had to be put on hold because of ongoing concerns over the condition of his hamstring and he didn't end up making his first appearance of the season until January 25, when he played the final 11 minutes of a 3-0 loss to Juventus in Turin.

Six more outings as a substitute followed, resulting in Belgium calling him up for their March internationals against the United States and Mexico.

Napoli were hardly enthused by the prospect of Lukaku travelling to North America for two meaningless friendlies while he was still working his way up to full match fitness. As a result, the club were relieved when the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) revealed on March 24 that the 32-year-old had pulled out of Rudi Garcia's squad.

"Romelu has chosen to focus on training in order to further improve his fitness," a statement read. "The KBVB respects his decision and wishes him the best of luck."

However, whereas Napoli anticipated Lukaku returning to the club's headquarters at Castel Volturno to continue his rehabilitation, the player instead decided to remain in Antwerp. According to widespread reports, a visit to a specialised clinic once attended by Lukaku's team-mate, Kevin De Bruyne, had revealed previously undetected hip inflammation - and he, thus, felt his recovery would be best served by staying in Belgium for further treatment.

It was also claimed that Lukaku fully intended to keep the Partenopei in the loop at all times and continually send medical reports and documentation back to the club for review. However, Sky Sport Italia revealed that Napoli were enraged by the perceived show of insubordination - and implied lack of faith in their medical team.

Acutely aware of how his refusal to follow Napoli's orders was threatening to alienate him from yet another fan base, Lukaku released a statement on March 30 outlining his position.

"This season has been a lot for me from dealing with the injury and the personal loss. I know there has been a lot of noise about my situation in the last few days and it’s important to clarify the whole situation," Lukaku wrote in an Instagram story.

"The truth is the last few weeks I wasn’t feeling right physically and I had it checked out while I was in Belgium and it showed me that there was an inflammation and liquid on my hip flexor muscle next to my scar tissue. Since it is the second problem I've had since coming back early November, I chose to do the rehab in Belgium so I can help the team when called upon.

"I think most of you saw the interview I did in Verona. There’s nothing more I would love to do than play and win with my team. But right now I have to make sure I am clinically 100 per cent because I haven’t been recently and it took a toll mentally.

"It’s been a lot this year. But in the end I will get there and help Napoli and the national team to achieve their respective objectives when called upon. That’s all I want."

What Napoli wanted, though, was for Lukaku to immediately return to Italy and, the day after the former Manchester United man's statement, they released one of their own: "SSC Napoli can confirm that Romelu Lukaku did not respond to today’s call to return to training. The club reserves the right to consider taking the appropriate disciplinary action, as well as to determine whether the player will continue to train with the team for an indefinite period."

Despite the threat of sanction, Lukaku remained absent without leave even after the international break ended, meaning he wasn't even training with the rest of his team-mates ahead of Monday's massive Serie A showdown with AC Milan.

Napoli still managed to win the game at the Maradona, even though Rasmus Hojlund was also unavailable with a stomach bug, and their 1-0 victory saw them replace the Rossoneri in second place in the standings.

Conte also proclaimed in his post-match interview on DAZN that his team would fight right until the end to defend their Scudetto, even though they remain seven points behind leaders Inter. However, whether Lukaku will play any part in the conclusion of Napoli's campaign remains shrouded in uncertainty.

Interestingly, Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna claimed that the situation was "very clear" in his head.

"Romelu went to Belgium for international duty, he had a small injury setback and preferred to remain there to train, against what we had asked," he explained on DAZN shortly before kick-off in the Milan game. "Nobody would’ve stopped him from working with his doctors, but we had wanted to talk it over in Naples, and it didn’t happen. We are not happy about that.

"The integrity, respect and value of the group is above all else. Talking about this now is superfluous, because Romelu is not here. He is working in Belgium. I think and hope he will return in a week’s time. But he knows there will be consequences."

What those consequences will be are anyone's guess right now, but a fine and a suspension appear inevitable. Nonetheless, it feels significant that Napoli's players are keen to welcome Lukaku back into the squad as quickly as possible.

"We have no problem with Romelu; he always behaved well with us, and we are in contact," Matteo Politano, who scored the winner against Milan, told DAZN. "Whatever happened, it’s between him and the club, so it’s up to them to sort it out."

Meanwhile, full-back Leonardo Spinazzola called for calm and understanding from everyone involved: "This has been a really difficult time for Rom. He lost his dad, and while he seems like a big tough guy, he’s really just a gentle giant, a big softie. We've talked a lot, I know how much he suffered, so I hope above all for him that this can pass."

It certainly should, and sooner rather than later, given banishing Lukaku from the first-team squad for what's left of the season is not really in anyone's interests. However, everything very much hinges on Lukaku and, at this particular point in time, it's impossible to say when he'll be 100% ready, physically and, much more importantly, mentally, to play for Napoli again.