Xtra Time Web Desk: Belgium captain Eden Hazard is doubtful for his country’s Euro 2020 opener against Russia. The Real Madrid superstar has admitted he is not 100 percent fit. The winger has had an injury-plagued two years at Real and is still short of full fitness, casting doubt on what his role may be for Belgium at the tournament.
The Red Devils kick off their tournament on Saturday and Hazard’s preparation has been less than ideal.
“I’ve only had one full week of training,” Hazard told Belgian media channel RTBF.
“We’ll see, with the medical team what I’ll do for the first match.
“To begin with, it will be the head coach’s decision, but I’m still not 100 percent so we’ll see what we’ll do.”
The 30-year-old has been unable to gain any consistency in the last two seasons and joined the Belgian camp still struggling with some niggles in his leg.
With a host of major stars such as Thibaut Courtois, Yannick Carrasco, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne, it’s no surprise Belgium is one of the favorites in Euro 2020.
Coach Roberto Martinez will be hoping Hazard recovers to full fitness at the earliest
The player himself has joked that he might retire from international football if Belgium win the tournament, but he knows they are expected to make a good go of it.
“Now when we play for the Red Devils, we always have that pressure on us,” he said.
“Because of what we did in the past, people expect us to always improve
“We know we did something amazing at the World Cup three years ago.
“We are going to focus on doing better, there’s a lot of potential in this group.”