Real Madrid waiting on Eden Hazard's ankle operation on Monday before making transfer move

The Belgian is expected to miss six weeks or so after fracturing his ankle

Monday 05 June 2017 10:13 BST

Eden Hazard will undergo surgery on Monday (Getty)

Real Madrid are waiting on the outcome of Eden Hazard's operation on Monday after the Belgian fractured his ankle on international duty.

The Chelsea winger is one of the European champions' top targets this summer, but they will hold off on making a formal approach until they have a clear timeline for his return to fitness.

Hazard is currently expected to miss between six and eight weeks, starting with Friday's World Cup qualifier in Estonia.

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

Show all 5

1/5The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

1. The second half of Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea, 24 September

The biggest defeat of Chelsea’s season, but also one of the biggest reasons they have won the title. It brought an epiphany. The way that Arsenal simply tore at Antonio Conte’s defence to go 3-0 up by half-time made the Italian realise something was fundamentally wrong with his team. There were huge gaps in the team structure, and it looked at that point like there was still a huge gap between Chelsea and even challenging for the title. That instantly changed, because Conte changed the formation. In that second half, he went to a three-at-the-back that had been on his mind but hadn’t yet been tried on a pitch. Chelsea immediately went on that 13-game winning run, never really looking back.

Getty Images

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

2. Chelsea 4-0 Manchester United, 23 October

Chelsea had at this point impressively won two games in a row, and looked like they were building, but this match showed there was so much more to it than just a temporary transformation from the change in formation. It showed the quantum leap they had already made. There was of course much more to this match than just winning a big game, too, given that the players were up against their old manager Jose Mourinho just 10 months after he had been sacked following a sensational team collapse in 2015-16. They performed like they had a point to prove, and made an utterly compelling argument from the very start, when Pedro scored after mere seconds. It felt like many ghosts from the previous campaign had been banished, as well as any lingering doubts. They were on another level.

Getty Images

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

3. Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea, 3 December

Arguably the Premier League game of the season in terms of excitement, but also the game when Chelsea’s winning run became an exhilarating title surge; when momentum really picked up - and that despite City doing so much to try and stop it. This was just another case of turning a negative into a positive, as they completely turned a game. Determined to get their top spot back, Pep Guardiola’s City absolutely battered Chelsea in the first half, and could have been out of sight. Conte’s side just about held firm despite Gary Cahill’s own goal, though, tightened up at half-time and then responded with a series of rapid attacks City simply couldn’t handle. Really, it was the response of champions, and the moment when Chelsea properly emerged as the obvious next champions. That’s how significant the win felt. That’s how much confidence Conte said they gleaned from it.

AFP/Getty Images

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

4. Leicester City 0-3 Chelsea, 14 January

If the defeat at Arsenal was a defining moment for Conte’s tactics, this win at the former champions was the defining moment in terms of everything else to do with the team. Sure, the final score may make it look elementary, but the week had been anything but. It was maybe the most challenging. Chelsea’s 13-game winning streak had just come ended at Tottenham and their top scorer's Blues career was coming to an end, after Diego Costa got into an altercation at training following speculation he might be on the move to China. It really looked like it could all cave in, when Chelsea would lose their edge, and their nerve. Instead, it brought more progress. The team killed Leicester 3-0 thanks to two goals from Marcos Alonso and one from Pedro, before Conte completely killed the controversy by stonewalling it in his press conference. It sent a statement to Costa to get back in line, and a statement to the rest of the Premier League that there was so much more to this team than one scorer.

AFP/Getty Images

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

5. Chelsea 4-2 Tottenham Hotspur, 22 April

This may have been an FA Cup semi-final, but it was one with a significance far beyond making the final. It was really the final test in the title race, a referendum on which of the two sides was actually better. That may seem ridiculous now, but that was very much the feel that of week. A stuttering Chelsea had been resoundingly beaten 2-0 at Manchester United, allowing a surging Spurs to cut the lead to four points. It seemed like it was all only going in one direction, but that a Tottenham win could completely divert the destination of the title. There was instead only ever one winner. Conte’s side simply cut Spurs' legs away. Every time Tottenham responded, Chelsea just showed they had that bit more, they were that bit better. The impressive high quality of the two clinching goals from Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic only emphasised it all. It was the story of the season. Every setback only brought another surge.

AFP/Getty Images

Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is known to be a huge fan of Hazard, who he has placed on a par with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the past.

The Bernabeu club are ready to make him a big-money addition to the squad this summer with the ultimate aim of shifting Ronaldo, who scored twice in Saturday's Champions League final, into a more central position.

While the Portuguese forward, 31, is still resisting a positional change and publicly said as much in interviews last week, he is at least more pliable when it comes to rotation. Cristiano's insistence on playing every week used to be a headache for Madrid coaches trying to keep him fresh for the business end of the season but Zidane convinced his star man to skip away games down the stretch and it paid dividends, with Real winning a double for the first time since 1958.

Madrid's interest in Hazard represents a huge test for Chelsea, who must repel one of the world's biggest clubs ahead of their return to the Champions League.

Hazard's arrival would further throw Gareth Bale's future at the club into doubt, but the Welshman - who has won three European Cups since signing for the Spanish giants - told reporters he wants to stay in Spain.

“Yeah, I have signed a long term contract at Madrid,” Bale said after Real’s 4-1 win over Juventus at the Millennium Stadium. “My family is happy and I am happy so, yeah, we will continue what we are doing. As I have said, I am happy here at Madrid. We are winning trophies and I am happy.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

US EditionChange

Thank you for registering

Real Madrid waiting on Eden Hazard's ankle operation on Monday before making transfer move

The Belgian is expected to miss six weeks or so after fracturing his ankle

Thanks for signing up to the
Betting email

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

1. The second half of Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea, 24 September

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

2. Chelsea 4-0 Manchester United, 23 October

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

3. Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea, 3 December

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

4. Leicester City 0-3 Chelsea, 14 January

The 5 key moments that won Chelsea the title

5. Chelsea 4-2 Tottenham Hotspur, 22 April

Join our commenting forum