Hazard: the derby at stake

Real Madrid divide their attention this Monday. It aims, on the one hand, at trip to Ukraine, set at 09:00 for Tuesday (6:55 pm, Movistar Champions League) face Shakhtar; on the other, to the second part of the medical check-ups of Eden Hazard (29 years old), injured on Saturday but it is not known to what degree. The result of Sunday's ultrasound did not shed enough light, so today's resonance keeps the club very aware of what happens. One thinks especially of December 12, the date of the derby with Atlético, in which the presence of the Belgian is in the air.

Between the game against Alavés, in which Hazard suffered that new physical setback, and the visit of Simeone's team there will be 14 days. That implies that practically any injury that is confirmed and diagnosed to the '7' in Valdebebas will take him away from one of those appointments that nobody wants to miss, even less now that Atleti is being identified mostly as the great favorite to win the League.

The idea is that the resonance of this Monday provides the missing context about what happened with Hazard, in such a way that what happened to him can be specified. While the club spoke at all times of a muscle injury in the thigh of the right leg, Zidane explained at a press conference that his player had told him that it was a blow. And that was the feeling of the attacker, who first tried to follow and then, when noticing himself badly, asked for the change about 30 'believing that the shock could trigger a muscle problem.

The complicated calendar that Hazard can miss

In any case, here it comes another gash in Hazard's evolution. In the starting eleven to receive those of Machín, had managed to link three starts for the first time this season. It was an inconsequential a priori conquest, but not if you look at its data, since it had only registered that sequence on two occasions in 2019-20, one staying in three starts and another, between October and November until the unfortunate kick of Meunier, going to seven.

There is no loss that is not untimely, but this is more so if possible for the relevance given to Hazard in Madrid, due to the irregular state of the team and the calendar. In the next two weeks, those of Zidane will play it in the Champions, this Tuesday against Shakhtar and on Wednesday 9 against Monchengladbach, and in La Liga, where they face Sevilla at Pizjuán on Saturday 5 and Atlético go to Di Stéfano on Saturday 12. With those of Simeone and Real Sociedad six and seven points ahead, the rojiblancos also with one day less than the whites and the realists with one more, the margin of error has been narrowed to the maximum.