Belgium ease Eden Hazard injury fears after Chelsea star asks to be substituted

Hazard has been given the all-clear by Belgium
AFP/Getty Images
Simon Johnson14 November 2016

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has eased fears that Eden Hazard has suffered a major injury.

Belgium ran riot in an 8-1 win against Estonia on Sunday night as Hazard scored the third goal en route to an easy 2018 World Cup qualifying victory in Brussels, but the Chelsea star caused concern after asking to be substituted in the second half.

The Red Devils' captain was replaced with 16 minutes remaining, but Martinez revealed that Hazard had been kicked on the calf and that it was not a serious problem for the Stamford Bridge forward.

Former Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku scored two late goals in Belgium's win to complete the rout, sending Martinez's men two points clear in Group F after four games with maximum points a goal difference of +20.

Hazard has been in superb form for Chelsea this season, scoring seven Premier League goals to leave the Blues second - just a point off league leaders Liverpool - heading into the international break.

Hazard said before the game against Estonia that while he cannot hope to be a captain in the mould of Blues skipper John Terry, he prefers to lead by example in attack.

"It's good for me to be the captain, but I can't be like John Terry," he said. "As captain, I don't talk too much. I try to talk with my feet on the pitch.

"My ambition is to lead Belgium to the World Cup, to win something for the country. I hope we can do it but it's still far away."

Meanwhile, midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has had to pull out of the England Under-21's friendly against France tonight due to a hamstring problem.

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