Romelu Lukaku has apologised after reportedly claiming that as many as 23 Inter Milan players were ill with coronavirus symptoms as early as January.
Italy is among the world’s worst-hit countries by the outbreak, with Serie A finally suspended in March following weeks of match postponements.
It has been theorised that the pandemic started long before countries across Europe were forced into lockdown and in an Instagram live with Belgian TV presenter Kat Kerkhofs, Lukaku claimed that his club had an outbreak following the winter break.
“We had a week off in December, we returned to work and I swear that 23 out of 25 players were ill. I am not kidding,” he said.
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“We played against Radja Nainggolan’s Cagliari and after about 25 minutes, one of our defenders [Milan Skriniar] had to leave the pitch. He could not continue and almost fainted.
“Everyone was coughing and had a fever. When I was warming up, I felt a lot hotter than usual. I hadn’t suffered from a fever in years.
“After the game, there was a planned dinner with guests from Puma, but I thanked them and went straight to bed. We never did the Covid-19 tests at that moment, so we will never know for sure.”
It is reported that Inter were taken aback by the comments and have disciplined the former Manchester United striker, who has apologised for the claim.