Napoli, Conte’s bold move: Lukaku in squad for Benfica trip | OneFootball

Initially, the schedule planned for his recovery to be in time for the Supercup on December 18. But the striker is shortening the timeline and could already be available on the 10th for the Champions League, being added to the squad in place of De Bruyne.

Napoli, Lukaku, Conte’s “crazy idea”: include him in the Champions League squad for the away match against Benfica

Romelu Lukaku is accelerating his return. After 105 days out since August 14 — due to a high-grade lesion of the left rectus femoris — the Belgian is steadily increasing his workload. Conte praises him daily: he is an exemplary professional, methodical, and hungry to get back on the pitch.

Conte’s plan

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the Napoli coach has a “strange” but legitimate idea in mind: to include Lukaku in the Champions League squad in place of Kevin De Bruyne, who is out until February like Anguissa. The regulations allow only one substitution during the competition to replace an injured player.

With a packed schedule (Benfica on December 10, Copenhagen on January 20, Chelsea on January 28), Conte is considering having Big Rom available at least as an option from the bench.

The goal: Lisbon

If the upcoming training sessions confirm his progress, Lukaku could even board the plane to Lisbon and join the team for the crucial match against Mourinho’s Benfica. Nothing is guaranteed, as the medical staff urges caution — an injury like this should not be rushed — but the idea is no longer science fiction.

Why now?

The squad has been decimated by injuries.

Neres and Lang have provided some relief, but the dominant center forward is missing.

Hojlund, just back, is not yet explosive.

Napoli is playing for a huge share of qualification.

Conte would like to have his offensive totem back even before January, when the transfer market could offer new solutions.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.