Relief for Real Madrid over Hazard injury ahead of El Clasico

Real Madrid's Eden Hazard receives medical attention after sustaining an injury.[Courtesy]

Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard is set to be fit for the ‘Clasico’ against Liga leaders Barcelona after tests showed he had bruised but not twisted his ankle as first feared.

Hazard was one of Real’s top performers in Tuesday’s 2-2 Champions League draw at home to Paris St Germain but hobbled off after being tackled by Belgium teammate Thomas Meunier.

The 28-year-old was substituted midway through the second half and Real coach Zinedine Zidane said he was worried about the injury and thought Hazard had twisted his ankle, throwing his availability for the Dec. 18 ‘Clasico’ into doubt.

Real’s concerns were eased by the medical report released by the club on Wednesday, which stated Hazard had a bruised right ankle although it did not say how long he would be sidelined.

Newspaper Marca said the 100 million euro (£86 million) player was set to miss the trip to Alaves on Saturday but would be back for Real’s following game at home to Espanyol on Dec. 8.

Real are second in La Liga, level with Barca on 28 points after 13 games and visit their rivals at Camp Nou next month after the fixture was rescheduled from Oct. 26 over security concerns following political unrest in Barcelona.