Hazard will have to undergo another operation to remove the plate from his ankle

Two years after being operated on in Dallas for a fracture in the fibula, Eden Hazard will have to go through the operating room again, "in the next few days", to remove the plate that was implanted in his right ankle and that is the cause of all the muscular ailments suffered by the Belgian Real Madrid footballer. Eight months before the World Cup in Qatar, Hazard has decided to be operated on again to end the problems that he has been dragging on since November 2019, when he was injured against PSG in the Champions League group stage.

The pain suffered by the Belgian international in the ankle has increased and Hazard has decided not to wait any longer to undergo another ankle operation. Hazard will have at least one month off, so he will miss the final stretch of the season with Real Madrid. The Belgian will not be in the Champions League quarterfinals against Chelsea (April 6 and 12) or a possible semifinal on May 4 and 28, apart from in most of the last nine League games that he will have confront the leader.

The removal of the plate from his right fibula could have been carried out a year ago, but it was delayed because Hazard would have missed not only the final leg of last season, but also the European Championship. The medical services of Real Madrid then tried a conservative treatment that did not work and, since his muscular problems are continuous, the only solution now is a new surgical intervention. Osteosynthesis plates (surgical steel or titanium) to consolidate the broken bone should only be removed in the event of an infection in the area that is not eliminated with antibiotics or there is persistent discomfort, as is the case with Hazard.

In the last operation that Hazard underwent in the United States in March 2020, a plate with screws was implanted to join the parts of the fractured bone and stabilize the ankle, but his ordeal with injuries dates back to 2017, when he still belonged to Chelsea. After signing for Real Madrid, during a Champions League match against PSG on November 26, 2020, a tackle by his compatriot Thomas Meunier cut off his progression at the root and caused a fracture that kept him in the dike for almost half a year dried. He returned on May 9, 2020 already with the plaque, but since then the footballer who cost Real Madrid 160 million euros and earns 15 million net per season has not been anything like the one who dazzled at Chelsea and stood between the best of the world.

The Belgian player has not played for Real Madrid for a month, against Alavés at the Bernabéu, but for some time now he has become a very residual footballer for Carlo Ancelotti, with Vinicius the undisputed starter on the left wing of the attack and Asensio or Rodrygo disputing the right wing of the trident. Muscle injuries, as a result of his battered ankle, have not stopped weighing down Hazard, who has only participated this season in 17 games, with 686 minutes in the League. Real Madrid is eager to sell Hazard this summer, but the player, with a contract until 2024 and no offers, has no intention of leaving the white club.