Hazard was injured again in Real Madrid training on Wednesday, a muscle tear that will keep him away from the white team for three to four weeks. The Belgian is once again a prey to physical problems and takes a new step back in his set-up, a process that he has not managed to complete completely since he arrived at Real Madrid. Although his landing did imply the displacement of a fundamental footballer for the whites during the 2018-19 academic year, such as Vinicius. Zidane himself explained it like this last season, when trying to reason the loss of prominence of the Brazilian: “Last year Hazard was not there and I like that he plays in his place …”.
The regression of Vinicius’s game since Zidane took over the white team has been progressive and evident, and in recent weeks it has reached its peak: He has not been a starter in the league since December 15, 2020, against Athletic in Valdebebas, and has not given an assist since then. He has scored three targets this year and all three were between September and October. David Bettoni, second to Zidane, took away the iron from his continuous absences last Friday: “It is a specific moment, there are moments when players can play less. He is training well, there is nothing worrisome with him. “
Zidane has never shown a special predilection for Vinicius; since he arrived, it was clear that he found Rodrygo’s game more amusing, more sober and with less fantasy, although more effective and focused on finishing plays. However, the former Flamengo player has enjoyed his moments under the command of Marseille, with the goal that scored against Barcelona at the Bernabéu in the last league in the last league. In his quest to get Hazard back, Zidane had practically forgotten Vinicius in recent weeks: he only started one game in the last nine (the Cup against Alcoyano). But the new injury of the Belgian opens a universe of possibilities to relaunch his season.
From five to seven games for Vinicius
Most likely, Hazard will miss every February match and return with a view to March.. He will not play against Huesca, Getafe, Valencia, Valladolid and Atalanta, practically for sure; In the best of cases, he could return to receive Real Sociedad in Valdebebas or for the derby against Atleti in the Metropolitano. If the healing process of your tear is not optimal (a very possible case in the case of a repeat offender in muscle injuries like the Belgian), He might not play those two games either, so Vinicius suddenly finds himself with a margin of five to seven games in which he has a great chance of starting.
It also benefits him that his compatriot Rodrygo is not fit to play, who on other occasions in the past closed the door on him. His main competition at the moment is Asensio, who could move to the left if Zidane decides to align Lucas Vázquez on the right; But the Galician comes out of injury and his performance in the short term is unknown, which reinforces Vinicius’s candidacy for eleven with a view to improving those 1,166 minutes that the young footballer knows little, arrived in the summer of 2018 in exchange of 45 million euros.
