Eden Hazard: Heavy tackles will cut my career short

Eden Hazard takes up to three days to recover from the kicks and bruises of a match day.

But, even as the most fouled player in the Premier League, Chelsea’s brilliant Belgian refuses to complain.

The tricky 5ft 7in playmaker takes it as a compliment when he is hacked down.

He knows he has the better of opponents if they are resorting to such tactics.

He even discussed, with Jose ¬Mourinho, the prospect of getting bigger shin pads earlier this year.

And his boss wouldn’t have quibbled about that since he values Hazard at £200million – £100million per leg – as he tries to ward off interest from ¬predatory Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Hazard often judges his performances on his frequent painful moments, once declaring that, if he has been fouled 15 times in a game, then he knows he has played well.

He has been the driving force behind Chelsea’s title push and is expected to collect the PFA Player of the Year award in London Sunday evening.

But he realises there could be a knock-on effect from all the kicks he is accumulating.

“I do not think I will play up to 36 – because I started early and I have taken a lot of blows” he told Sport Foot magazine.

“I’m sore all over, like an old grandpa. Let’s see where I am at 31 or 32.”

Currently 25, there are plenty of dazzling displays left in “old grandpa” yet.

Hazard has still managed to complete more dribbles this season than anyone else in the top flight and even when he is chopped down, you see little ¬reaction.

“I do not respond to ¬provocations,” he said. “Since I started at Lille, I always took a lot of fouls and I’ve learned to live with it. For two or three days, I hurt all over. But the physios are there to fix me.”

Hazard – praised this week by his idol Zinedine Zidane – was first spotted at the age of five as he pinged balls into a net, ¬bare-foot, on a pitch at Royal Stade ¬Brainois.

But his natural talent should really come as no surprise, given parents Carine and Thierry both played the game.

Hazard progressed at Belgian side Tubize, before he was snapped up by Lille in 2005 and moved to France.

He made a professional debut aged 16, became a club star and joined Chelsea for £32m in 2012. Hazard recently penned a new five-year deal with the Blues.

He loves being an entertainer but, under the guidance of Mourinho, now has a winning mentality to his game.

And, while collective prizes mean more to him than ¬individual awards, he does aim to become the best player in the world while at Stamford Bridge.

He describes superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as “extra-terrestrials” and also considers Arjen Robben, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Franck Ribery to be above him.

But he is catching up, fast. He scored 13 in his first season at Stamford Bridge, 17 last term, and has 18 in the current one – including the decisive goal against Manchester United last weekend.

Hazard, who took judo lessons as a kid, is conquering the Premier League. You can try to deck him, but he will always get up again.

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