Belgium coach Roberto Martinez “optimistic” about Hazard’s chances of playing in upcoming FIFA break

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez talked to Nieuwsblad about Eden Hazard’s thigh injury and his chances of being available for the upcoming FIFA break, which will begin on Monday.

“My feelings about Eden are positive because he always wants to play. He generally recovers fast and properly from his injuries, so if he plays in Villarreal we will count on him,” said Martinez. “I’m always optimistic when talking about his injuries because he hates not being able to play football,” added the Spanish coach.

Hazard didn’t train with Real Madrid’s squad this Tuesday and a report from Marca suggests that Zinedine Zidane won’t rush him back until the attacker is completely ready to play.

Hazard still has three days to work on his recovery before Zidane announces the squad list, but if he can’t train with the squad by Friday it’s quite unlikely that he misses the away match against Villarreal. This would make sense considering that Hazard would then have two weeks to improve his conditioning in Valdebebas instead of playing two more competitive matches with Belgium.