Real Madrid News: Zidane To Test Hazard Against Elche; Los Blancos Proceeding With Caution

KEY POINTS

Eden Hazard will get playing minutes for Los Blancos before 2020 comes to a close
Real Madrid coach opts to use Hazard sparingly
Zidane chooses not to tackle the Isco and Marcelo trade speculations

Real Madrid hopes to play their final match for 2020 with a bang.

Part of those plans is to give booters coming off injury a chance to play and get them into the groove of things. One of those names is Eden Hazard.

The 29-year-old footballer has been out since November due to a thigh strain. Hazard sustained the injury when Los Blancos lost to Deportivo Alavaes towards the end of last month.

This season, the Belgian winger has played in only six matches across all competitions. Furthermore, he has yet to play a full 90-minute for 2020-21.

It appears he will continue to do so with Zinedine Zidane admitting that he would play Hazard “a little bit.”

“The other day (against Granada) we decided against it but we want him to play tomorrow because he's been back with the team for a while and we want to take advantage of Eden's ability,” Zidane said during a pre-match press conference via Goal.

Hazard has had a stroke of bad luck thus far. Last season, the Belgian played only 22 games. This season, he struggled through injuries and even came out with a positive COVID-19 test.

These were some of the reasons that prevented him from playing at Santiago Bernabeu.

While Hazard’s return is good news for the fans of Real Madrid, Zidane admits he feels the pain of two other players who have struggled for playing time.

They are Isco and Marcelo, a duo that has been in and out of the lineup in recent months, El Mundo reported.

"These are complicated situations, but it is the bad part of being a coach but I have to assume my responsibility. Every game I have to decide a team. They are complicated moments,” Zidane said.

Isco and Marcelo have been linked to moves away from Santiago Bernabeu and something could transpire in the January transfer window.

Zidane preferred to stay away from these speculations and preferred to focus on the task at hand.

“I have all my players, they are also from Real Madrid and I do not get involved in these things of whether they want to leave or not. I cannot control the outside, I can only say that they are here and I see them plugged in because they train very well,” he stated.