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Roberto Martinez now admits that Romelu Lukaku IS a doubt for the opening game of the new season.

The 22-year-old faces a crunch 48 hours in his bid to be fit to face Watford on Saturday.

Lukaku was brought off against Dundee last week after complaining of being “heavy legged” and missed friendlies with Leeds United and Villarreal.

The £28m striker trained alone on Saturday morning but has done little with the rest of the Everton squad.

Martinez, who dismissed the suggestion that Lukaku has a hamstring injury, had insisted Lukaku would be ready to face Watford this weekend.

But the Everton boss now concedes he is unsure if Lukaku will play.

“He hasn’t done much with the group,” Martinez said.

“The next 48 hours are making sure he doesn’t get a bad reaction and we are going to be very careful with him before the weekend.”

He added: “Rom needs extra assessment over the next 48 hours to see what his role is going to be at the weekend.”