The 33-year-old has managed just 69 minutes in seven substitute appearances this season after spending the last two months recovering in Belgium from a hamstring injury. Despite his lack of game time, Garcia has kept faith in his star striker as Belgium prepare for their Group G fixtures.

Garcia acknowledged Lukaku’s condition, saying the striker is fit again but still not at peak sharpness.

“Romelu has recovered, but he’s out of shape, and I’m not sure he’ll be able to start the matches. But he’s our best striker, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer,” Garcia said.

He added that the team would work on building the striker’s fitness ahead of the tournament.

“We have five weeks to get him back to full fitness so that little by little he can help the team,” he added.

Lukaku remains a key figure for Belgium, with 89 goals in 124 international appearances. If he features, it will be his fourth straight World Cup appearance alongside veterans such as Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, and Axel Witsel.

Garcia also included Matias Fernandez-Pardo in the squad after the young attacker committed his international future to Belgium, having previously been linked with Spain. He replaces Lois Openda, who has struggled for playing time at Juventus.

Defender Zeno Debast was also named in the squad despite recent concerns over a training injury.

Belgium will face Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand in Group G, with matches scheduled across the United States and Canada.

Speaking on Wednesday during an appearance on Morayo Afolabi-Brown’s programme, Momodu said he escaped by trekking across the Seme border into Cotonou in the early hours of the morning.

He revealed that he left his infant son behind in Nigeria, describing the moment as deeply emotional and uncertain.

According to him, his first son was less than a year old and lying beside his wife when he made the difficult decision to leave.

“The morning I was leaving, my first son was less than one year old. He was just lying beside my wife and I was crying,” he said.

Momodu explained that he made the journey alone on foot, with no assurance of safety or what awaited him in exile.

“I travelled by foot through the Seme border into Cotonou very early in the morning,” he said.

He added that arriving in Cotonou did not bring relief, but more anxiety about his future and survival.

“When I got to Cotonou, I started crying again because I wasn’t sure where I was going, when I would get there, or if I would even survive,” he said.

Momodu said the period of exile, which lasted from 1995 to 1998, later shaped his career and contributed to the creation of Ovation International Magazine.

He noted that the experience strengthened his political views and commitment to democracy, even as he shared similar historical experiences with President Bola Tinubu, whom he now politically disagrees with.

Momodu also reflected on his early struggles, including losing his father at the age of 13 and working various jobs before rising to prominence in media and public life.

He recalled fleeing Nigeria on July 22, 1995, after his wife was alerted that security operatives were searching for him, allegedly over his link to Radio Freedom, later known as Radio Kudirat.