Real Madrid winger, Eden Hazard has suffered a fresh leg injury setback as he limped off the field as the La Liga champions lost at home to Alaves.
Since his move to Madrid from Chelsea, Hazard has been suffering from one injury or the other. This has greatly affected the number of competitive games played for the Galacticos. The Belgium star is yet to play up to 50 games for Real Madrid and he is yet to prove the £150m paid for his service.
This season, Hazard has made just four starts for Real Madrid and has scored two goals – one against Huesca during his first start before another against Inter Milan in the Champions League. Hazard was forcefully substituted after just 28 minutes with a leg injury.
Hazard injury woes at Real Madrid continues as limped off the pitch with a leg injury
Lucas Perez gave Alaves a fifth-minute lead from the penalty spot. The referee pointed to the spot after Victor Laguardia’s header struck Nacho’s arm.
Joselu then slotted into an open goal after keeper Thibaut Courtois’ bad pass before Casemiro’s late consolation.
This is Zinedine Zidane’s third league game without a win, leaving them fourth in the table, six points behind Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid and two behind third-placed Valencia.
Hazard is now back in the treatment room after playing just 27 times for Madrid since Zidane’s side since his big-money move. He had missed the start of the season with a muscular injury to his right leg. After managing three appearances, Hazard got tested positive for coronavirus at the start of November.
After his return to action against Villarreal on 21 November, Hazard scored a penalty in Wednesday’s Champions League win over Inter Milan, playing 65 and 78 minutes respectively in those matches.
Unfortunately, he didn’t last half an hour on Saturday before suffering another leg problem on a frustrating night for Real at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium.
“Eden, I think and I hope it was just a simple knock. That’s what he told us. That it’s just a knock, that it’s not muscular,” manager Zidane said after the defeat.
👔🎙️ El análisis de Zidane tras el partido de hoy frente al @Alaves.#RealMadridAlaves | #RMLiga pic.twitter.com/6nSfeJA4GI
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) November 28, 2020
Hazard has now joined key Marid players on the sidelines. Captain Sergio Ramos and striker Karim Benzema were sorely missed in defence and attack respectively, while Dani Carvajal and Federico Valverde were other absentees the club had to contend with.
Madrid will now travel to Ukraine to face Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday (17:55 GMT kick-off) in their penultimate Champions League group match, They need a win to ensure their qualification for the last 16.
- With three defeats, Real have lost as many times after 10 games this season as they did in 38 in their 2019-20 title-winning campaign.