Madrid concerned as Hazard ‘turns up overweight again’

Real Madrid ‘are increasingly concerned about Eden Hazard’s fitness’ after the Belgian star wasn’t in good enough shape to play for his country.

Hazard didn’t play a single minute for Belgium in their UEFA Nations League matches against Denmark and Iceland, with manager Roberto Martinez admitting he ‘wasn’t fit enough’ to feature.

And reports in Spain suggest his club Real are also becoming frustrated about the ‘overweight’ star’s fitness levels ahead of the new season.

Diario Sport say the club feel Hazard, who signed from Chelsea for Sh20.8 billion in the summer of 2019, should have not reported for international duty and stayed with Real to work on his fitness.

There are questions over his commitment to turning around his fortunes at the Bernabeu following an underwhelming first season that was adversely affected by injury.

Worse still, this is the second year in succession that Hazard, 29, has been out of shape ahead of a new season.

He reportedly arrived for Real’s 2019 pre-season tour in Montreal seven kilos overweight, much to the annoyance of manager Zinedine Zidane.

Now he is unlikely to be fit enough for the start of Real’s LaLiga title defence at Real Sociedad next Sunday with Sport reporting that Hazard needs ‘two or three weeks’ to reach the same fitness levels of his team-mates.

It means that Vinicius Jr is likely to move ahead of the Belgian in Real’s attacking options and Hazard will begin the season in a back-up role despite his hefty price tag.

The Spanish paper also says that Hazard’s stay with Real is unlikely to last much longer unless he turns things around having shown only glimpses of the quality he showed at Chelsea.

-Report by dailymail.co.uk