United's Lukaku in fitness race ahead of Juventus clash

Manchester United are in danger of being without Romelu Lukaku for their midweek encounter with Juventus in the Champions League.

The Belgian forward was excluded from Saturday’s tilt against Bournemouth because of an injury, with manager Jose Mourinho telling reporters that Lukaku picked up an unspecified knock during training on Friday.

“Lukaku yesterday in training, after the press conference – so I was not lying – he felt something that needs to be studied in the next couple of days,” Mourinho said, according to Rob Dawson of ESPN FC.

News of the injury comes just days before United’s crucial Champions League group stage match against Italian giants Juventus on Wednesday. The Premier League side sits five points adrift of top spot in Group H, having fallen 1-0 to the Bianconeri last month.

Lukaku, who was replaced by Alexis Sanchez in United’s starting XI on Saturday, was relegated to the bench ahead of last week’s 3-2 win over his former club Everton.

After scoring four goals in his opening five games, Lukaku has failed to find the back of the net in his last eight appearances across all competitions.