Something's up with Hazard

Something happens with Hazard, who was injured on September 30 (it was really the 29, but Madrid did not publish the part until the next day) with a “muscle injury in his right leg”, the term used by the club to refer to a muscle tear that at the time, was classified, was going to keep him away from the pitch for a month. That month is not yet over, but the dates do not add up: Hazard has not yet stepped on the grass de Valdebebas individually during training, at least Madrid has not reported in this regard.

If a player has a one-month absence, the terms are usually based on about two weeks working inside the facilities de Valdebebas, combining work in the gym and with Real Madrid's physiotherapists and recuperators, to progressively do a continuous running on the grass and, later, exercises with the ball, gradually increasing the intensity. All this usually occupies the remaining two weeks until the end of the month and until the injury is considered over, that is, until the player works with the group as normal.

That does not imply being there to play immediately, because to this period you have to add the necessary to gain rhythm and match with some teammates already cruising. But it does entail being at least available, and therein lies the problem. Three weeks after the official announcement of his injury, Hazard is still in the first stage, without leaving the gym. Real Madrid usually specify the situation of the injured in their training parts on the club's website: if they have worked in the gym, on the pitch, if they have touched the ball, if they have done part of the training with the group … In Hazard's case, it has been a constant: “I work inside the facilities.”

Likewise, when injured players go out onto the pitch, as it is an advance in recovery, Madrid has a habit of accompanying the news with a photo of that moment, But so far Hazard has not been seen far from the gym, despite the fact that Zidane said this Tuesday, in the Madrid-Shakhtar preview, that the Belgian had stepped on the grass on occasion. If so, Madrid has not realized it.

Zidane: “It's more than expected …”

Although it is undeniable that the terms foreseen with Hazard have been blown up, the estimated drop is already a month and a half, as Zidane himself acknowledged: “Eden has stepped on the grass again. The only thing your injury is a little more than anticipated. I fully trust the people who work with us here, who are on top of them. I hope that soon we will see Eden and forever, especially that he comes in and stays with us all season ”. Zizou was noticed a certain boredom in the response, wishing that last season's star signing can finally perform as he expected; Between injuries and certain tendencies of the player himself, that has not been possible.

Since arriving at Real Madrid, Hazard has been injured six times, missing 29 games so far (They will be 30 after Madrid-Shakhtar) and being out for more than 225 days, for now; When you recover from your current ailment, that number is probably already over 250 days. The most serious injuries were accidental, unfortunate: a Meunier entry in a Madrid-PSG It caused a microfracture in the distal fibula that kept him away from the fields for several weeks. He opted for a conservative treatment and not to undergo surgery, but on his return he relapsed quickly and Madrid decided that he should go through the operating room to replace a titanium plate that had been placed in the area, as a result of a previous injury.

Ankle and weight problems

But to this are added muscular injuries, such as the one he had in the first month of competition last year and the one he is going through at this time, of which the Belgian can be attributed some responsibility. In the summer of 2019, he arrived overweight, as he himself would later admit, without mincing words: “When I'm on vacation, I'm on vacation. I don't hide it. I gain weight fast, but lose it fast. On a bad day, I weigh 77 kilos, but this year I reached 80. I lost them in ten days. “And this year, the scene was repeated, to which was added discomfort in his right ankle that prevented him from entering the game. first matches and a call with Belgium, not to play for a minute, which did not sit well at the club.

The result has been this year and four months of Hazard as a Real Madrid player, with very poor numbers: 22 games, just one goal and seven assists in just over 1,500 minutes. This course, at the moment, is blank and his return with Real Madrid is unknown; Zidane's hope is that he can be available for the return of the next national team break, on November 22 at Villarreal's home.