A worrying incident for both Belgium and Real Madrid involving Eden Hazard took place in the Nations League semi-final between the Red Devils and France on Thursday night. The Real Madrid forward stopped running after passing the ball in the 75th minute of the match, didn't participate more in the play and began walking towards the sidelines while removing his armband.
Then, Hazard was immediately replaced by Leandro Trossard and went to the bench, where he wasn't attended by the team's doctor. However, when Romelu Lukaku's goal was overruled by VAR late in the match, one of the fitness coaches approached Hazard and touched the player's head in a consoling manner. Everything indicated that Hazard, who stood out in the first half against Les Blues, had picked up another injury.
A few weeks ago, Carlo Ancelotti insisted that Hazard is not in shape to play three games in one week and alarms went off at Real Madrid following the Belgian's substitution. However, the first tests done by Belgium's medical staff made them be optimistic that Hazard avoided a tear and simply suffered a muscle overload.
Belgium are set to face Italy on Sunday in the Nations League third-place play-off and the national team's medical staff stayed in contact with their Real Madrid's counterparts to evaluate Hazard's knock and examine whether he should return to Madrid before the international break comes to an end.
"We are not sure what happened with Hazard. We will have to check in the next few hours. The player will undergo tests to know the exact extent of the injury", said the coach Roberto Martinez after the game.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid have no games to dispute until Tuesday, October 19, when they will face Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, with El Clasico against Barcelona at the Camp Nou having been scheduled for October 24.
Later, the Real Madrid forward was sent home from international duty in order to undergo medical tests at his club to determine the extent of the injury he picked up against France. The Belgian Football Association believed that any serious damage was unlikely for the player to had happen, but they had in any case deemed it best that he be spared the third-place playoff with Italy in order to provide him the best treatment as soon as possible.
The winger underwent initial tests in Milan after the defeat against France and it appears that it is little more than a scare, but with his history, both Real Madrid and Belgium prefered to err on the side of caution. However, the Belgian Federation confirmed on Friday afternoon that Hazard had not suffered a new injury and that he should be back in time for Real Madrid’s game against Shakhtar Donetsk without much issue.
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