Inter Milan boss Conte says Lukaku struggles to get in shape because of his 'massive body' – Daily Mail, Daily Mail

Inter Milan bossAntonio Contehas admitted thatRomelu Lukakustruggles to slim down because of his’ massive ‘size.

The 26 – year-old looks much leaner than he did playing forManchester Unitedlast season, having adopted a new ‘Bresaola diet’ since joining Inter in the summer.

Avoidingalcohol, fried foods and sticking to a Mediterranean menu of vegetables and protein-rich white meats such as turkey and chicken have helped him to shed the pounds over the summer.

Lukaku was accused of being overweight towards the end of his spell at United and reportedly weighed 104 kg upon joining Inter Milan.

Gary Neville was one of his most harsh critics and questioned his professionalism.

Lukaku, who is believed to have lost nearly a stone since joining Inter, hit back at Neville by showing off his abs in a topless picture on social media.

The striker added: ‘He (Neville) can talk about my fitness but he should never say anything about my professionalism , that I don’t work hard enough. That is something he cannot say. ‘

Antonio Conte is happy with Lukaku’s progress and revealed that he is forced to work harder than others to reach peak condition because of his physique.

Asked about Lukaku after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat against Serie A rivals Juventus, Conte said: ‘Romelu is definitely a player that must train more, because being a player with a massive body he needs to train , to play, to be in great shape.

‘In this beginning of the season he had this back issue, now he’s been dealing with this other quadricep issue since the game against Lazio.

‘But I think he gave everyt hing, it’s inevitable that against Barcelona we didn’t have Lukaku and it was important to have him. And we didn’t have him.

‘However, Romelu as well was very committed today, he tried to do his best, and now let’s hope he can leave these little issues behind him and be at his (per cent. ‘

The Belgian has made a positive start to life in Italy, scoring three times in seven games, but couldn’t make any kind of impact against Juventus.

Inter had won all of their first six league games before goals from Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain secured victory for Juve in the Derby d’Italia on Sunday.

Conte’s side now sit second in the Serie A table and will look to return to winning ways when they face 15 th-place Sassuolo after the international break.