Lukaku to miss start of Napoli’s title defence with ‘serious’ thigh injury

ROME: Romelu Lukaku will miss Napoli’s opening fixture of their Serie A title defence after suffering a thigh injury which could keep the Belgium striker out for months, the Italian champions said on Monday.

Napoli, who travel to promoted Sassuolo on Saturday, said in a statement that Lukaku had suffered a “serious” tear in his left thigh during Thursday’s pre-season friendly with Olympiakos.

No indication was given by Napoli on how long Lukaku would be sidelined, but Italian media reported that he could be out of action until November.

Napoli suggested that Lukaku, 32, might have to undergo surgery.

Lukaku was key to Napoli winning their fourth league title last season, setting up 10 Serie A goals to go with the 14 he scored under coach Antonio Conte.

Separately, Borussia Dortmund on Monday confirmed striker Sebastien Haller had joined Dutch side Utrecht on a permanent deal.

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Haller reportedly joined on a free transfer, having been allowed to end his Dortmund contract a year early.

The 31-year-old Ivory Coast international spent the second half of last season on loan at Utrecht, the club he played for between 2015 and 2017.

“This summer there was quite a bit of interest from other clubs, but for me there was only one ideal scenario and that was FC Utrecht,” Haller said in a statement on the club’s website.

The departure ends a tumultuous time for Haller at Dortmund.