Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has confirmed that star attacker Eden Hazard has not fully recovered from the back injury that kept him out of his sides 4-0 victory over Burnley last weekend, although the 27-year-old has resumed training and will be able to play some part in his sides Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Belgium international Hazard has started this season in the form of his life, notching seven goals and providing three assists in just seven top flights starts for the Blues.
However, the mercurial playmaker rather unsurprisingly suffered a back injury after Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United side kicked lumps out of him during their 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago.
Speaking to the media today ahead of Sunday’s home clash against Roy Hodgson’s Palace Sarri gave an update on Hazard’s fitness:
“Hazard trained for a large part of the session yesterday. He can probably play for 40 to 45 minutes,” the former Napoli coach said.
With or without their star player, Sarri’s side will still be confident of picking up three points and extending their unbeaten run to eleven Premier League games against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Chelsea’s other attacking players stepped up in Hazard’s absence during last weekend’s convincing win over Sean Dyche’s Burnley.