The Italian plans to welcome Hazard back to the fold after the club’s COVID-19 outbreak.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed plans to start Eden Hazard alongside a recovered Karim Benzema in the club’s La Liga match at home to Cadiz on Sunday.
The former Chelsea man has had another injury-prone start to the season, having struggled with muscular and fitness problems, but will get a rare break in the line-up amid the club’s COVID-19 outbreak.
This weekend will mark Hazard’s first start for Real Madrid since a 2-1 La Liga win at Valencia on September 19.
“Tomorrow he starts,” Ancelotti said in his pre-match press conference on Saturday. “He’s going to play because he’s trained well and he deserves it. He hasn’t changed mentally – the problem has been that he hasn’t always been able to train at 100%, as he is now.
“He’s prepared going by what he has shown in training. He wasn’t used to playing on the right, and I preferred Rodrygo and [Marco] Asensio there. But he has everything to put up a good second half of the season and prove important and useful for the team.”
Who is missing for Real Madrid?
Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Andriy Lunin, Rodrygo, and Marcelo have all tested positive for COVID-19.
Luka Modric recently returned a negative result after a second PCR test, but Ancelotti has ruled the midfielder out of the Cadiz match.
The Italian, meanwhile, has called up midfielder Dani Ceballos to the squad after the Spaniard recovered from a long-term injury.
📋✅ ¡Nuestros convocados para el partido 🆚 @Cadiz_CF!#RealMadridCádiz pic.twitter.com/gYv5jVaa3f
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) December 18, 2021
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