Eden Hazard ONCE AGAIN turns up to Real Madrid training 'overweight'

Eden Hazard has reportedly infuriated the Real Madrid hierarchy after turning up to pre-season overweight for the second year in a row. Last season, the Belgian faced the wrath of social media after he reported to training with an additional 5kg in body weight. The Belgian even admitted that he needed extra sessions to get game fit. "It’s true,” Hazard told L’Equipe at the start of last season. “I’m not going to hide it, but when I’m on vacation, I’m on vacation. I had put on five kilos, I’m the type to put on quickly and lose so quickly if I’m careful." 

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Eden Hazard's struggle to regain match fitness was considered one of the reasons behind his poor debut season at the Santiago Bernabeu. Hazard scored just once and provided seven assists in 22 appearances for Real Madrid after joining the club from Chelsea in a deal worth up to €146 million. He missed 24 matches last season due to a string of injury issues, mainly a hairline fracture that ruled him out through most of the winter.

Eden Hazard overweight AGAIN; club worried about mega-investment

While it was expected Eden Hazard will look to start afresh this time around, Real Madrid fans were left scratching their heads after he failed to make a single appearance for Belgium during their most recent international fixtures. Belgium scored wins over Denmark and Iceland in the UEFA Nations League with Hazard stuck on the bench. Belgium manager Roberto Martinez explained his decision to bench Hazard stating he "wasn't fit enough."

According to Sport, Real were confused as to why Hazard reported at the Belgium national camp when he was unfit to play any part. The Spanish giants instead expected the former Chelsea star to stay in the Spanish capital and work on his fitness with fitness coach Gregory Dupont.

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With just 10 days left for Real Madrid's opening LaLiga game, it is understood that Hazard would need another two-three weeks to regain match fitness. This potentially puts a major doubt on his availability for Real Madrid's season opener against Real Sociedad. Vinicius Jr will likely get the nod ahead of the Belgian next Sunday.

If reports in Spain are to be believed, the bosses at Real Madrid, especially Zinedine Zidane, are furious with Hazard's lack of fitness, which raises questions over his professionalism and commitment to the club. Some reports even claim that the club hierarchy is fast losing patience with the former Lille attacker, and might consider offloading him if he fails to reignite his Chelsea form this time around. 

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(Image Credits: Eden Hazard Instagram)