Romelu Lukaku is looking in incredible shape at Inter Milan ahead of the 2022/23 season.

The striker has returned to the San Siro on loan following a disappointing campaign at Chelsea.

After leading Inter to Serie A glory in 2020/21 with 24 goals in 36 league games, Chelsea splashed out a club record fee of £97.5 million to bring him back to Stamford Bridge.

However, despite a promising start, Lukaku soon fell out of favour with manager Thomas Tuchel and managed just eight goals in 26 league appearances.

From the best season of his career at Inter to a disastrous campaign at Chelsea. What went wrong?

Well, during his two seasons at Inter many believed he was in the shape of his life.

The Belgian looked trim, strong and quick, scoring 64 goals in 95 appearances in all competitions.

At the time, he weighed 101kg (15st 9lbs) and managed to lose half a stone.

However, during spells in England with Manchester United and Chelsea he's looked bulkier - perhaps an attempt to deal with the more physical nature of the Premier League.

The diet Lukaku was on at Inter Milan

That's probably down to the strict diet he was put on at the Serie A club by Antonio Conte. Conte banned players from consuming likes of potatoes, fried food, mozzarella and alcohol, while encouraging rice, salmon and Bresaola - air-dried salted beef.

During his first stint at Inter Milan, he told Sky Sports Italia: "Since I joined Inter I have changed my diet and I can say that I have never felt so strong.

"My diet consists of salads for lunch, a lot of chicken breast, Shirataki pasta.

"'I don't change my way of eating much, for how we play we must have a very strong physique, we run a lot: since I have followed this lifestyle I feel better on the pitch, I feel more reactive and faster.

"I've always been an explosive player with muscles but Italy took me to another level. I have never felt so strong. I have reached another level, physically and mentally.

"I consume a lot of carbohydrates after games. Most of the time I eat two packs of gnocchi, it depends on what the chef has prepared. They go into circulation quickly and they help me a lot."

Lukaku returned to Inter Milan overweight again

But after returning to Inter this summer, the club realised he was 'well over the 101kg' he was in his previous spell. They believed he was 'overweight' following his season in Chelsea.

So, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, Lukaku was put on a similar diet that brought incredible results previously. While Conte is no longer enforcing the rules, current manager Simeone Inzaghi will no doubt be keeping a close eye on Lukaku.

Lukaku is already looking in incredible shape

In fact, it seems Lukaku has been abiding by the diet already.

Just weeks after the reports that Lukaku was overweight and set to be put on a strict diet, he's looking in incredible shape ahead of the new season.

Images of Lukaku in training shows he looks trim - while still very muscular. He even took off his top to show that he's very much not overweight.

Is Lukaku set for another incredible campaign at Inter? If his physique is anything to go by, then yes.

Will Lukaku return to Chelsea?

While Lukaku is still contractually a Chelsea player, he seemingly burned all bridges at the west London club when he claimed it was a 'mistake' to leave Inter last summer.

"I left. It was a mistake," he said.

"Now I am happy to be wearing this jersey, the team knows what we need to do, it’ll be a great challenge this season and we need to continue like this.

"I realised last season when I was in England, just how important Inter are in the world.

"The club’s profile is improving on an international scale, the social media approach is really important too and you can see how we act in the locker room, in training, our hugs and jokes.

"Milan is a wonderful city and that is why I kept the old apartment when I went to London, because my mother was coming here all the time and I wanted to return too."