El Gato
Villarato!
Good article from The Athletic
https://theathletic.com/2543596/202...drid-move-still-made-chelsea-20m-last-season/
Not much new to learn, but interesting to hear that Hazard's ankle was actually broken first in 2017 after one of the Belgium games and London doctor inserted a small plate to help it heal.
Then the 2019 injury caused them to reevaluate and recommended an NBA-style bigger plate because Hazard moves more like an NBA player.
Hazard himself thinks the bigger plate caused knock-on minor injuries, but doctors in the US and London both said the plate isn't an issue.
https://theathletic.com/2543596/202...drid-move-still-made-chelsea-20m-last-season/
It is the fear in every Chelsea fan’s mind: has Eden Hazard got fit in time to knock them out of the Champions League?
To suggest Hazard’s “dream” move from Chelsea to Real Madrid in 2019 hasn’t quite worked out yet is a bit of an understatement. At the weekend he came off the bench against Real Betis to make just his 37th appearance for the La Liga club.
During the 15 minutes Hazard was on the pitch, there was none of the spark that Chelsea got to benefit from on a regular basis. He was involved 15 times, completing 11 of his 12 passes, but did not have a significant touch in the Betis half.
Most of his passes were safe recycling of possession back to his full-back or inside to a midfielder. There was one nice link-up with Karim Benzema, which put him into space 20 yards out, but instead of trusting himself to shoot he tried to feed Vinicius Junior and the chance disappeared.
“You could see that Eden was not very sharp,” Real Madrid team-mate and former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois admitted afterwards. “He has been training with us for two or three weeks, which will do him good. He has taken his time. We saw him well and he will be important for us over the rest of the season.”
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. When Real Madrid lured him away from Stamford Bridge two years ago, Hazard was earmarked to be the man to help fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo. Sadly, the biggest impression he’s made so far has been on the club’s treatment table.
Hazard has suffered a remarkable 10 different injuries, as well as contracting COVID-19, since the move to Spain. According to Transfermarkt, all this bad fortune has caused him to miss 58 matches.
But could his luck be about to improve at Chelsea’s expense? Everyone associated with Real Madrid will certainly hope so.
On April 2, Hazard’s latest attempt on the comeback trail began as he resumed training with the Real Madrid squad. Like so many fitness issues he has suffered from over the past 12 months or so, the problem that sidelined him was pretty minor but enough to halt any kind of momentum.
Muscular pain was once again the cause for his absence — there have been three other injuries of a similar nature this season — but these are all complications caused by an ankle injury sustained in November 2019.
The tackle by fellow Belgian international Thomas Meunier during a Champions League game between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain has certainly proved costly. There was no intent to injure Hazard but what made it such a significant blow was that it came on the same ankle he had broken while on international duty with Belgium in 2017, which required a small metal plate to be inserted to help it heal.
After discovering a “micro-fracture”, Real Madrid decided rest and rehab was all that was required. Unfortunately, on the attacking midfielder’s second game back against Levante in February 2020, he fractured it more seriously and surgery was then needed.
After conversations between Madrid’s medical department and Belgium national team physio Lieven Maesschalck, they decided against returning to the London-based doctor who had performed the first operation in June 2017. It was felt that Hazard’s tendency to spin and turn on his ankle, pivoting more like a basketball player than a footballer, had been a contributory factor in the problem. So they chose to visit Texas-based Eugene Curry, due to his experience handling players from the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and the procedure to have a much bigger metal plate put in was carried out in the USA on March 5.
It has been a struggle to come back ever since, not helped by lockdown last year that meant Hazard had to do a lot of his recovery exercises alone at home while getting instructions via Zoom. The club did assign a physio to visit and help him, only for the individual to suffer a COVID-19 scare and be forced to self-isolate.
Any hope that Hazard would fare better in 2020-21 has been quickly extinguished. Inevitably this has caused a lot of frustration, with the Spanish press questioning whether he has a future in Madrid.
Sources suggest Hazard is worried that the new metal plate has been the cause of the minor injuries suffered during the course of this campaign and wants it removed. It is understood he spoke with Curry and the London doctor to gauge their opinion, only to be reassured that everything was fine with the plate.
Real Madrid wouldn’t want him to have the procedure anyway, given it would force him to sit out for a couple more months. As far as they’re concerned, he could still make the difference in the Champions League and their pursuit of La Liga.
Notably, Hazard met up with the Belgium squad last month even though he couldn’t feature. It gave him a break from the scrutiny of the Spanish capital and also a chance to work with national physios he has built a rapport with over several years. They came up with exercises that would help strengthen his legs and also his core. The trip was described as a positive one.
Hazard has continued to work extremely hard. Even after leaving training, he’s been doing extra work with a physio at home. If Hazard had got his way he would have returned sooner than last weekend, but Real Madrid and their coach Zinedine Zidane decided the cautious approach was best.
But Zidane has spotted an improvement in Hazard’s mood. Speaking ahead of the first leg of the semi-final, he said: “I don’t see Eden having any doubts. He looked very good on the field the other day. That was the most important, not feeling anything from his old problems. Now he is good, and now to push on. We are happy to have him with us, he will bring a lot to the team and now we continue.”
There are many who debate the size of the transfer fee Real Madrid paid now but it shouldn’t be forgotten just how much of a star of the world game Hazard was in 2019.
His display in Chelsea’s 4-1 victory over Arsenal in the Europa League final — there were two goals and an assist — was another example of what Hazard is capable of when in the mood. It was his final match for the club and it was evident how much he wanted to end on a high.
A return of 110 goals and 92 assists in 352 appearances meant Real Madrid were always going to have to pay Chelsea a fortune, even though there was just one year left on his contract.
An initial fee of ?89 million was agreed with the price rising to ?150 million depending on add-ons. Clearly, Hazard hasn’t had the opportunity to trigger too many of those although one source suggests Chelsea received ?20 million for Real Madrid winning La Liga and qualifying for the Champions League last season.
Chelsea will receive another sum should Real Madrid win the Champions League. It is doubtful whether any personnel at the club would regard it as much consolation should Real knock them out and achieve the feat next month.
Hazard is believed to have reacted with great excitement the moment Real Madrid were drawn to face his former club. As far as he is concerned, by having the opportunity to play at Stamford Bridge again, he is getting the chance to go home, to his garden.
An indication of just how much Hazard and his family enjoyed their life in England comes with the suggestion from insiders that they haven’t sold their home near Chelsea’s training ground in Surrey. Indeed, before the pandemic, his wife and children came over for a visit to make sure the house was still in good order and to also meet up with some old friends.
Hazard has suggested in the past that he could play again for Chelsea one day or move back to England permanently after he has retired. This might give the impression the 30-year-old regrets leaving in the first place, but that isn’t the case. The playmaker is loving life in Madrid and the sunnier climate it offers. What he wants to do now — and this is what should worry Chelsea — is repay the club and Zidane for bringing him there. He wants to give something back to the fans.
This is not driven by the need to silence the talk in the local media of him being a flop. Hazard doesn’t read it. This is a pressure that is coming from within.
“I have spoken with him and he is very motivated,” defender Raphael Varane said. “Playing a Champions League semi-final motivates any player. But against your old team is even further motivation. He knows very well the club and team we are playing against. We know the quality he has, and he really wants to show that on the pitch, and help the team.”
Zidane has been a big help throughout and always been there for him. When the former Lille star suffered an injury earlier in the season, the Real Madrid coach told him to stay at home with his family for a day, to relax before having it seen to.
It was Zidane’s presence at Real Madrid that was a factor in Hazard wanting to make the move in the first place. He wants nothing more than to impress his idol.
Some began to question whether Zidane was losing patience after Hazard’s most recent setback, but their relationship remains as strong as ever.
Obviously, for a man who has completed 90 minutes for Real Madrid on just five occasions — none of which has come since the first ankle injury — he is going to be short of match fitness. A role off the bench is most likely on Tuesday night, as well as the return leg in London.
But Chelsea know better than anyone what he can do with a football at his feet. Coach Thomas Tuchel obviously wasn’t at Stamford Bridge when Hazard excelled between 2012-19, but clearly appreciates what threat he poses to their European ambitions.
“Eden is a top-quality player, a key player here for many years at this club, in this league which is the hardest in the world,” Tuchel said. “He was so consistent here for this club, I have big respect for him. Now he plays for Real Madrid. He is fit, he had a comeback in their last game to be ready. If he plays then I am pretty sure he will want to make a point.”
It is one of football’s great mysteries that Hazard has played only one Champions League semi-final in his career and that was Chelsea’s last appearance at this stage in 2014. Now either his current or former employer will get to play in this year’s final.
It wouldn’t be a surprise should Hazard, who has just four goals and seven assists for Real Madrid, determines which one goes through.
Not much new to learn, but interesting to hear that Hazard's ankle was actually broken first in 2017 after one of the Belgium games and London doctor inserted a small plate to help it heal.
Then the 2019 injury caused them to reevaluate and recommended an NBA-style bigger plate because Hazard moves more like an NBA player.
Hazard himself thinks the bigger plate caused knock-on minor injuries, but doctors in the US and London both said the plate isn't an issue.
