MADRID – Eden Hazard has been practically ruled out for the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 between Real Madrid and Atalanta on February 24 after sustaining another injury in practice on Wednesday. The Belgian has a muscle injury in the left anterior rectus and will be out for at least four weeks, according to ESPN.
“After tests conducted today on our player Eden Hazard by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he was diagnosed with a muscle injury in the left anterior rectus. Awaiting evolution, ”Real Madrid announced on its website.
The first alarms went off on Tuesday when Hazard was absent from training. The Belgian returned to training on Wednesday, but noticed some discomfort in the latter part of the session and the medical tests conducted confirmed that he sustained a muscle injury in the left anterior rectus.
Sources close to the Belgian admit to ESPN that Hazard is “mentally ill”. However, the former Chelsea player has only played 13 games this season and has already suffered nine injuries since arriving as a star at the Santiago Bernabéu a year and a half ago, plus a period of absence due to the corona virus.
In principle, the Belgium international is expected to miss the La Liga matches against Huesca, Getafe, Valencia and Valladolid. In addition, his presence against Atalanta in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 is almost ruled out.
In fact, sources close to the coaching staff are slipping to ESPN that if the initial deadlines are confirmed and bearing in mind how difficult it is to pick up the pace, hope is more pinned on being able to play the second leg against the Italians who will be played on March 16 at the Bernabéu. So the only good news of the day for Zidane is Sergio Ramos’ recovery for the match against Huesca.