The current manager of La Liga club Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane has confirmed that Eden Hazard has suffered a setback, just days after he made his return in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win against Elche.
Hazard who came on for the final 15 minutes against Elche with the hope that he could feature off the bench in Los Blancos’ Champions League tie against Atalanta on Tuesday night, but that is no longer possible.
“Something is going on,” Zidane revealed when asked about Hazard during Monday’s pre-match press conference.
“He has never been injured in his career and this is new for him. I can’t explain more.
“We all want to help him. I hope he will be with us soon.”
When asked if the pressure is starting to build on Hazard, Zidane stated that he still believes the Belgian will be a success at Real Madrid, even if it with another coach.
“I don’t know if it will be with me, because he has a long contract,” he explained.
“But sooner or later Hazard will come good. We have to be patient.
“I ask the fans to wait for Hazard. We know a player he is.
“The fans want to see Eden Hazard play, like the club, the coach and his teammates. We have to be patient and wait.”
Given the number of injuries Real Madrid have had to deal with this season, is there an issue with something that they are doing?
“I don’t think there is a problem,” Zidane stated.
“We have very competent people here who are very close to the players. We are looking for what is causing it, of course.
“In the end these are things that happen in football. We’ve talked about the pre-season, the games, the mental aspect…. There are very good people here for the players.
“We are recovering players; now there are fewer injuries.”
One player that Los Blancos will be missing on Tuesday night due to suspension is Casemiro, yet his coach is not worried about his absence.
“He’s not going to be there and there are other players who are going to play and who are going to do well,” Zidane said.
“I never worry about these things. We have the players to play a great game.”
Real Madrid have a 1-0 lead from the first leg against Atalanta, but Zidane is keen to ensure that his players do not get complacent.
“We have to start from scratch,” the Frenchman noted.
“We haven’t done anything. We have to show a lot of things to get through the tie. We mustn’t think that with the first leg we’ve done it, of course not.
“It’s a final. It’s a second leg and to go through we have to play a great game. They are an opponent with a lot of strengths.”
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