EDEN HAZARD is set to undergo surgery on his fractured ankle in the United States on Thursday amid fears that his season could be over.
The Belgian playmaker was forced off during Real Madrid’s surprise 1-0 defeat to Levante last month in only his second game back from a separate injury he sustained back in November.
Eden Hazard will undergo surgery on his ankle in the United States later this weekCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Real Madrid are hoping the Belgian will return before the end of the seasonCredit: Reuters
Zinedine Zidane remains hopeful that the 29-year-old may able to return before the end of the season having already missed three months of the campaign.
Yet according to Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur, Madrid face an anxious wait to find out the timescale of Hazard’s return after surgery in Dallas.
Zidane has already admitted that he is unsure whether the winger, who moved to Spain from Chelsea in a deal worth an initial £88.5million, will play again this term.
He said: “I don’t know if his season is over, I don’t know but I hope not.
“I don’t know if he will need an operation, it’s not my area. I can see he’s not happy.
“It’s important he stays positive but of course it’s difficult. It’s a bad moment, it won’t be easy and he will feel like this for a while.”
Hazard has endured a difficult first year at the Bernabeu, scoring only once in 15 appearances for Los Blancos.
He has already missed 20 games with injury since his bumper move to Madrid, more than the number of matches he was unavailable for Chelsea in his entire SEVEN YEARS at Stamford Bridge.
Hazard was absent for last week’s disappointing Champions League 2-1 first-leg defeat to Manchester City at the Bernabeu.
But Madrid are coping better without him in La Liga, after a 2-0 win over Barcelona in the El Clasico sent them back to the top of the table.
Meanwhile, Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has already revealed that he is optimistic that Hazard will return to fitness to captain his country at this summer’s Euro 2020.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk