DBasia.news – Eden Hazard will be absent in the continuation of LaLiga when Real Madrid hosts Athletic Bilbao on Sunday (5/7) AM. According to head coach, Zinedine Zidane, the Belgian international star has not fully recovered.
Hazard had a heavy knock in the 1-0 win over Espanyol and then missed his team’s win against Getafe in midweek.
Madrid now has the opportunity to enlarge theirpoints advantage over Barcelona to seven for several hours if they are able to defeat Bilbao, given that the rival will only face Villarreal on Monday (6/7) AM. However, Zidane was reluctant to take unnecessary risks and could jeopardize Hazard’s chances of completing this season.
“Eden is having a hard time lately and we don’t want to risk anything, and he is the first [to approve it],” said Zidane. “Hopefully, this is only a minor injury and we can see him again before the end of the season.
“He has been absent for three or four days and I hope he will deal with it quickly. This is from day to day, we do not know anything but this is a great blow. There are those who know, namely the doctors and medical officers. “They are competent people. That [Hazard’s injury] was a major blow against Espanyol and this problem is only a matter of a few days.”
Hazard’s first season in Madrid since his € 100 million move from Chelsea has been filled with injuries, with the 29-year-old player starting in 13 league games in 2019/20.
“Hazard’s problem is something we don’t want to happen, it’s the worst thing for me,” continued Zidane. “It’s not just me, there are many people here to help the players.
“For Eden, this is his first year and he wants to help the team. And when he can’t do that, he is not happy.
“I don’t think he is scared [of being injured] what he wants is to play well. If he doesn’t appear 100 percent, it’s a problem for him and for everyone, because we love him fully.
“What I hope now is that we will soon get out of this situation.”
Los Blancos last won the title in 2016/17, in Zidane’s previous leadership period, and he was reluctant to talk even though he now has an advantage at the top.
“The players know that this is a complicated, difficult, long competition, and those who did this before showed that they wanted to do everything,” he added.
“There’s no euphoria here because we haven’t won anything yet.
“There is work and commitment to do well and to try to win the match.”