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Real Madrid star Hazard advised to have surgery 'as soon as possible' to keep Euro 2020 dream alive

Another ankle issue has been suffered by the 30-year-old playmaker, who has been plagued by injury problems during his time in Spain

Eden Hazard has been advised by the doctor the Belgium national team to undergo surgery "as soon as possible" after suffering a further injury set-back at Real Madrid.

Fitness problems have plagued the 30-year-old throughout his time at Santiago Bernabeu, with a proven performer being prevented from establishing any kind of consistency and momentum in Spain.

He is now heading back to the treatment room, after seeing just 15 minutes of action on his latest comeback against Elche, and Kris van Crombrugge says he should undergo surgery now to feature at Euro 2020.

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What has been said?

Van Crombrugge has told VTM, with Belgium already continuing down the days to their bid for international glory at this summer’s European Championship: “Surgery could be a good option to get the ankle flexible again.

“But, without wanting to interfere, I would advise to do it as soon as possible so they don’t hamper his dream of playing at the Euros.”

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How many games has Hazard missed through injury?

Hazard has been restricted to just 2,191 minutes of competitive football for Real across 36 games.

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Since making a high-profile €100 million (£86m/$120m) move from Chelsea in 2019, only four goals and seven assists have been contributed to the Blancos cause.

His latest spell on the sidelines led to seven games being sat out, to go with the 17 others he has already missed through injury this season.

In total, Hazard – who has been working harder than ever to get himself right - has been ruled out of 50 fixtures for Real across less than two campaigns.

What do Real Madrid think?

Something clearly needs to be done in order to get Hazard back on the field in peak condition, with Blancos boss Zinedine Zidane admitting that he has been left baffled by the endless setbacks suffered by a big-money asset.

He has told reporters: "It's something new. I can't really give any more of an explanation.

"Something's up, because he was never injured in his entire career [before joining Real] or there were very few injuries. We want to help him and hope he's back as soon as possible.

"They're things that I can't explain. I want to be positive and hope that it's not too much of a problem.

"We're going to try and figure out why it's happening but right now we can't explain it."