Fourteen injuries, 529 days on the sideline Hazard to undergo surgery for a turnaround
Hazard's fitness has been a concern ever since he joined Real Madrid, as he missed the first month of the 2019-20 season due to a muscle injury
Belgium captain Eden Hazard has featured in an average of 20 games per season since his move to Real Madrid in 2019.
The 31-year-old played 22 matches in the 2019-20 season (43 percent of Real Madrid's matches), 21 games in 2020-21 (40 percent) and another 22 so far in the current campaign.
Hazard is expected to be out for at least a month as he undergoes surgery to remove the osteosynthesis plate in his right fibula.
It signals a final attempt from Hazard to get out of the tunnel, where he has been stuck since his arrival at Real Madrid in the summer of 2019.
Hazard has had 14 injuries and has been unavailable for 529 days during that time and has failed to make a big impact on Los Blancos.
The former Chelsea player was set to lead Real Madrid forward, but it hasn't happened and Hazard wants to turn things around.
Hazard's fitness has been a concern ever since he joined Real Madrid, as he missed the first month of the 2019-20 season due to a muscle injury.
He gradually came into form and began to gel with the team, until he suffered an ankle injury against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
First, Hazard was out for 82 days, then he decided to have an operation following a brief reappearance which put him out for another 105 days.
In the 2020-21 season, Hazard picked up seven injuries, six of which were muscle problems, stopping the Belgium captain from finding any form when he did play.
Hazard hoping for light at the end of the tunnel: After 14 injuries and 529 days out
It was another frustrating campaign for Hazard, who even had fitness problems in Euro 2020 as he missed Belgium's quarter-final loss to eventual champions Italy.
The current 2021-22 season, missing just 26 days of Real Madrid's campaign, but he hasn't been able to find a place in the starting 11.
Hazard has been disappointing in the 22 games he's played this season, and the rise of Vinicius Junior has forced Hazard to the substitute’s bench.
It's a situation Hazard doesn't accept so his latest operation is a final bid to put him back on the road to the player who starred for Chelsea and Belgium.
