Lukaku will not return for Inter before World Cup
Romelu Lukaku will not play again for Inter Milan before going to the FIFA World Cup with Belgium.
Lukaku's return to San Siro on loan from Chelsea this season has been disrupted by injury.
The striker has been limited to just 255 minutes of action across five appearances in all competitions, starting three matches and scoring once.
Lukaku made his comeback from a thigh problem against Viktoria Plzen in the UEFA Champions League late last month but was quickly ruled out again.
Coach Simone Inzaghi was initially hopeful Inter would see Lukaku before the FIFA World Cup but he has now accepted that will not be possible.
The Nerazzurri play Juventus on Monday (AEDT), then Bologna and Atalanta before the Serie A season break in the lead-up to Qatar 2022.
Lukaku will hope to feature when Belgium begins its FIFA World Cup campaign against Canada on 24 November (AEDT).
Speaking before the Derby d'Italia, Inzaghi said: "We will be without him, without [Danilo] D'Ambrosio and with [Alessandro] Bastoni to evaluate because he had a fever.
"It is normal for a coach to want to have all his weapons, but we know that playing so much there are difficulties in organising with all the team.
"Lukaku will do another test next week; unlike last time, I can say that I don't think he will be there for the last game.
"I'm sorry, because he worked so hard to be there. We will wait for him after the break, because we know he can give us a great hand."
Inter is sixth in Serie A with Juve eighth but Inzaghi does not believe title hopes are on the line.
"We know how much it matters but we also know that there are 25 games to go," he said.
"In a week, there will be a break for the [FIFA] World Cup, and then there will be more than one round.
"We know how important it is but also how long there is until the end. Tomorrow is very important for both [teams], yes."
