Hazard urged to come back stronger by Batshuayi as fractured ankle offers him 'longer holidays'

Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi has called on Eden Hazard to come back stronger after suffering a fractured ankle on international duty.

The Belgian forward picked up an unfortunate injury while training with his country ahead of a friendly with the Czech Republic and a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Estonia.

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He will now play no part in those fixtures, with it expected that he will be sidelined for between two and three months.

That could rule him out of the start of the 2017-18 campaign, as Chelsea look to defend their Premier League title and reacquaint themselves with the Champions League.

Batshuayi is fully aware of how important Hazard is for both club and country, as a domestic and international team-mate.

Though it was Batshuayi who scored the all-important goal which secured Chelsea the top-flight title in 2016-17, it was the efforts of Hazard over the course of the campaign which put the Blues in that position.

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The 26-year-old netted 17 times in all competitions, including a personal best haul of 16 in the league, with that contribution enough to land him the Blues’ Player of the Year award.

Reports suggest that Hazard will look to undergo surgery on his ankle as soon as possible in an effort to bring himself back into contention for Antonio Conte as quickly as he can.