Real Madrid Injury Update: Eden Hazard tests positive for COVID-19, Blancos star returns to squad, and more — 7th November 2020
After a few disappointing results in both LaLiga Santander and the UEFA Champion League, Real Madrid returned to winning ways on both fronts with two successive wins against Huesca and Inter Milan. While the former was a rather comfortable 4-1 victory, the latter — against Zinedine Zidane's former teammate, Antonio Conte's side — needed a late winner from Rodrygo who scored Real Madrid's third in a five-goal thriller.
The Spanish champions are scheduled to travel to Valencia before the players depart for international duty, after which they will travel to Milan and face Unai Emery's Villarreal. Here, we take a look at some of the latest updates on the injury front for the Blancos.
Real Madrid confirm Casemiro and Eden Hazard test positive for COVID-19
Real Madrid have confirmed that their stars Eden Hazard and Casemiro have tested positive for COVID-19. The Belgian and the Brazilian have both been called up for national duty for the upcoming international break but will be unavailable to turn up for their sides after this unfortunate news.
Speaking on Hazard and Casemiro, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane expressed;
"They’re both [Hazard and Casemiro] good. They’re obviously not happy about what has happened. But, mentally, they’re good. Physically, they have a few things, but they’re well. I’ve exchanged messages with them and will talk with them again later."
The Frenchman continued,
"This can happen and we have to accept it. We have to adapt to the situation. It could be worse. Many people are having a tough time with this. But, it’s true that it’s concerning and it’s tough when you have a different training session like this."
Martin Odegaard to return to the squad
Los Blancos' creative midfielder Martin Odegaard was initially ruled out of action until after the upcoming international break, but the Norwegian is set to return to the squad, and has also been called up by Norway. It was the same injury that sidelined him for a handful of crunch fixtures for Real Madrid, including El Clasico and their UCL fixtures.
Speaking on whether or not Zidane is 'annoyed' by the fact that Norway called him up despite having returned from injury just recently, the Blancos' coach explained;
"It doesn’t matter if that annoys me or not. His [Odegaard's] national team can call him up and that’s what they’re doing. He’ll be with us tomorrow."
Zidane opens up on Isco's playing time
The topic of Isco's playing time at Real Madrid has been well-documented in recent times. The Spanish playmaker was caught complaining about Zidane's treatment of him on camera during the Clasico, and much has been said about his future as well. After having racked up just 177 minutes of football this season, the Frenchman was asked about his thoughts on Isco's lack of playing time. He expressed;
"He [Isco] just needs to keep working. It’s not an Isco problem, it’s my problem. It’s true he hasn’t been playing much, but he just needs to keep working and doing what he’s doing. He has had tough times and also good times. We have many matches coming up and I hope he’ll be able to demonstrate what he can do."
Isco has been linked with a move away from Real Madrid in recent weeks.
Also read: Zinedine Zidane opens up on Sergio Ramos' future, Sergio Reguilon discusses potential return to Santiago Bernabeu, and more