UNITED Rom loses muscle to find form...
ROMELU Lukaku admits he returned to United with a different type of physique after the World Cup and has been trying to lose muscle to rediscover his best form.
The 25-year-old was a big hit on the world stage last summer and scored four goals during Belgium’s march to a historic third-placed finish in Russia.
Lukaku then had three weeks off before cutting his post-World Cup holiday short to answer Jose Mourinho’s call and play in United’s first game of the season against Leicester.
The Belgian started the season well, scoring seven goals for club and country in his first seven games, before embarking on a 10-week goal drought with United.
During that 12-game barren run, Lukaku’s bulkier physique came under the microscope and United’s No.9 admits he had put on ‘a little bit of muscle’ last summer.
“It was at the World Cup. I just felt great and I think I played great over there and then when I came back it is a different type of style,” he told reporters after United’s 4-1 win against Fulham.
“I cannot play with the same amount of muscle as international football here in the Premier League.
“That was something that when I came back I knew straightaway. ‘Nah, nah, I cannot play in this style like this.’ I had to lose muscle basically. So you just stay out of the gym, drink a lot of water and eat a lot of vegetables and fish, and it helps.”
With just a 27-day gap between his last game at the World Cup and his first of the new season with United, it was hardly a surprise that Lukaku was not playing with his trademark aggression. Alarm bells started to ring when he suffered a rare hamstring injury last month. After undergoing tests with United’s medical team, Lukaku has now been training differently with more prevention work in the gym and more speed bursts on the training field.
“After the World Cup, I think I really was a bit tired,” he said. “But, you know, I had the same thing in 2014 after the World Cup when I came back to Everton. I was really in a slump after the World Cup.”