Hazard undergoes another ankle operation

Madrid, March 29, 2022 (AFP) - Eden Hazard has undergone another operation on his troublesome right ankle, Real Madrid confirmed on Tuesday.

As part of the surgery doctors removed a metallic plate in Hazard's ankle, which had been installed in March 2020 to help the Belgian put an end to his injury problems in Spain.

Hazard is expected to be out for at least a month after this latest operation, meaning he will miss Madrid's two Champions League quarter-final matches against his former club Chelsea.

"Our player Eden Hazard underwent a successful operation today at the Sanitas La Zarzuela University Hospital for the removal of an osteosynthesis plate on his right fibula," a club statement read.

Hazard has endured a hugely disappointing three years since Real Madrid paid 160 million euros ($177 million) to sign him from Chelsea in 2019.

Zinedine Zidane initially tried to integrate the forward whenever he was fit but Carlo Ancelotti has been less accommodating, with Hazard left on the fringes of the team for most of the current campaign. In October, Ancelotti said he "prefers other players".

Hazard played only eight minutes of Madrid's two Champions League last 16 games against Paris Saint-Germain and was an unused substitute in the Clasico defeat by Barcelona before the international break.

The 31-year-old's contract lasts until 2024 and Madrid are reportedly keen to offload him in the summer, with a return to the Premier League a possibility.