Romelu Lukaku appears to be on the road to recovery from his injuries, as he has been named to Napoli’s World Cup squad for Belgium.
Lukaku, along with midfield maestro Kevin de Bruyne and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, will be making their fourth World Cup appearance.
Currently, Lukaku boasts 124 international appearances for Belgium, while de Bruyne has 117 and Courtois has 107, making them among the most seasoned players in the tournament.
They trail behind the 37-year-old defensive midfielder Axel Witsel, who is also participating in his fourth World Cup and has represented Belgium 136 times.
Lukaku has not appeared for Belgium in almost a year, with his last contribution being a goal against Wales during World Cup qualifiers in June.
The 33-year-old forward has faced significant injury setbacks, limiting him to just five appearances as a substitute in Serie A this season, with a total of just 64 minutes played across all competitions.
He was initially called up for Belgium’s recent friendlies in March and April but had to withdraw due to ongoing fitness issues.
Courtois last played for the national team in October and missed Belgium’s recent squad due to injuries, yet he has been a pivotal player for Real Madrid this season.
Additionally, Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard and Manchester City winger Jérémy Doku enhance the team with their Premier League experience up front.
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Coach Rudi Garcia opted not to include 17-year-old midfielder Nathan de Cat, who could have been one of the youngest players at the World Cup.
De Cat made his Belgium debut in March during a 5-2 victory over the United States.
Forward Loïs Openda will also miss out after spending a considerable amount of time on the Juventus bench.
Belgium will kick off their World Cup campaign in Group G against Egypt on June 15, before facing Iran six days later and New Zealand on June 27.
Belgium’s recent World Cup history includes a third-place finish in 2018, but they aim to avoid a repeat of their early exit in 2022.
Belgium squad for the 2026 World Cup:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Manchester United), Mike Penders (Strasbourg)
Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting CP), Maxim de Cupyer (Brighton), Koni de Winter (AC Milan), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Nathan Ngoy (Lille), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge), Arthur Theate (Frankfurt)
Midfielders: Kevin de Bruyne (Napoli), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Girona)
Forwards: Charles de Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Matias Fernandez-Pardo (Lille), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Benfica), Diego Moreira (Strasbourg), Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.