According to reporters from camel.live, after playing two matches with the Nigeria national team, Ademola Lukman has returned from South Africa and will rejoin Atalanta today. Training boycotts, individual training sessions, remote negotiations with the club... all of these are now in the past.
Atalanta is ready to welcome Lukman back. After representing Nigeria in two matches, the 1997-born player will rejoin Atalanta in a few hours, effectively drawing a close to the soap opera that has dragged on for over a month—a period marked by training boycotts, individual training, and remote communications with the club, all in an attempt to leave Atalanta. All these issues are now a thing of the past, and Atalanta has already imposed corresponding disciplinary measures on the player.
Lukman will fully comply with Ivan Juric’s arrangements: there will be no additional disciplinary action—simply put, there is no reason for further punishment. Next, the focus will only be on evaluating his technical and physical condition, which is a natural process for players returning to the team after completing international duty.
After all, Lukman has just returned to Atalanta from South Africa, having endured a journey of over 16 hours (including one layover). He played 75 minutes and 90 minutes respectively in two matches over three days, yet never took part in any team training sessions—though he has consistently maintained good form.
Therefore, Juric and his coaching staff need to conduct a physical assessment of him to determine whether he can feature in the match against Lecce, and time is very tight. As a result, Friday may not see Lukman take part in his first training session with the entire team under Juric. But it is only a matter of time: the past is in the past, and Atalanta still fully relies on their No. 11 player.
