March 25, (THEWILL) – Spanish giants Real Madrid have revealed that Eden Hazard will have ankle surgery in the coming days, which effectively rules him out of the Champions League games against his previous team Chelsea.
Since departing Chelsea in 2019, the Belgian has had an infamously difficult time in Spain, unable to play consistently for Los Blancos owing to a mix of poor form and recurrent injuries.
Hazard was not selected for Belgium’s international matches this month by coach Roberto Martinez, and Real have now revealed that a procedure will be arranged in the hopes of resolving a problem that has plagued Hazard for the past year.
A statement from the club read: “In the coming days, our player, Eden Hazard, will undergo surgery to remove the osteosynthesis plate in his right fibula.”
Hazard’s most recent Real appearances were brief cameos in February, and he has not started a game since a 2-2 draw with Elche in January.
Following surgery, the attacker is anticipated to miss four to five weeks of action, ruling him out of Real’s Champions League quarter-final match against Chelsea in April.
Real have not missed Hazard with his injuries thanks to Vinicius Junior’s breakout season, with Rodrygo or Marco Asensio usually preferred on the other wing.
While Hazard’s absence is unlikely to have a significant impact on manager Carlo Ancelotti’s plans for the quarter-final match against Chelsea, the loss of striker Karim Benzema would be devastating.
Prior to the international break, the Frenchman was absent from Real’s 4-0 Clasico loss to Barcelona, with Real appearing particularly befuddled without their star striker.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
