Martinez: "I know he is recovering well. He is not far from running again and there are no complications"
Sunday 19 April 2020 20:10, UK
Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard is recovering well from ankle surgery and will "return stronger", says Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez.
Hazard had the operation in the United States last month after fracturing his ankle in Real's defeat to Levante in February, having only just returned weeks earlier following a three-month layoff.
The 29-year-old Belgian had looked set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines, but the suspension of football due to the coronavirus pandemic means he could still feature this season.
"I know he is recovering well. He is not far from running again and there are no complications," Belgium boss Martinez told local media.
"Everything went well with the operation, but you also hope that everything goes well in the four to five weeks afterwards without complications, and there were none.
"We know he will return stronger. We were also fortunate, of course, to have his surgery take place just before the coronavirus outbreak.
"Otherwise he would not be able to travel or be treated outside of Madrid. I have a positive feeling that Eden will be back soon."
Hazard, who joined Real from Chelsea last summer in a deal that could reportedly rise to £130m, has endured a difficult first season in Spain, scoring only once in 15 appearances.
Every club is eager for football to return but perhaps none more so than Real Madrid. It will have been a fraught five weeks for Zinedine Zidane, whose side headed into the shutdown off the back of four defeats in seven games.
Dumped out of the Copa del Rey at home by Real Sociedad and with one foot out of the Champions League following a 2-1 loss to Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu, the season has not gone according to plan.
So much was expected of this new Madrid side following a summer of heavy spending, with £275m forked out on players such as Eden Hazard, Ferland Mendy, Luka Jovic, Rodrygo and Eder Militao.
But with the side trailing Barcelona by two points with 11 La Liga games still to play, Zidane may well have used these dormant weeks contemplating ripping up his attempts at a reboot and starting all over again.
Sky Sports caught up with Spanish football expert Alvaro Montero to run the rule over the current squad and what could happen this summer...
