Stricken Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku could play for Belgium in World Cup qualifier

Romelu Lukaku remains in contention to play for Belgium in their penultimate 2018 World Cup qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday (7 October) despite the in-form Manchester United striker suffering from injury.

Lukaku was sent for an MRI scan on an ankle problem sustained shortly before the 4-0 Premier League defeat of Crystal Palace last weekend and the Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) subsequently revealed that no fracture or structural damage had been diagnosed.

The KBVB insisted that it was too early to determine whether or not the 24-year-old would be available for final Group H games against Bosnia and Cyprus. Lukaku has still yet to train with the rest of his international teammates this week and was instead believed to be following an individual programme.

Providing a further update on Lukaku on Wednesday, coach Roberto Martinez urged the need for patience and insisted that the Belgian camp continue to liaise closely with United's medical staff.

"We have to be patient," he told reporters, per ESPN. "We are in touch with United's medical staff. We'll take a decision on Friday."

Lukaku has made a significant impact since swapping Goodison Park for Old Trafford three months ago in a deal worth an initial £75m ($99.4m), scoring no fewer than 11 goals in his first 10 appearances for United.

Equally as influential for his country, he notched a hat-trick in Belgium's 9-0 demolition of minnows Gibraltar in September before scoring the winner in a 2-1 win over Greece that saw the Red Devils become the first European team - other than hosts Russia - to seal their place at the next World Cup.

It is the very fact that Belgium have already qualified that would no doubt irk Jose Mourinho if Lukaku were to play against Bosnia or Cyprus and risk aggravating that ankle complaint. The United boss has already insisted that he will not consider resting the player until Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns from his long-term knee injury, with Marcus Rashford occupying different positions.

"Belgium is Roberto's responsibility and it's his decision to play him or not to play him," he added. "I cannot, professionally speaking, say, 'Do this or do that'."

Marouane Fellaini has also sat out Belgium training this week, although he is not expected to miss any further time. The oft-maligned midfielder sustained a nasty knock to his achilles from Shane Long during a 1-0 win at Southampton and missed the Champions League trip to CSKA Moscow before returning to play 90 minutes and score two goals against Palace.

Both Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen and Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne are said to have returned to training today, although Lukaku's younger brother Jordan has been replaced by Watford's Christian Kabasele after suffering a hamstring problem.

Vincent Kompany was called up to the squad despite having not played a single minute of football since the last international break because of a calf issue. He has now been sent back to Manchester after travelling to Brussels to consult with the Belgian team doctors.