Chelsea's Eden Hazard Admits He's Still Recovering from Ankle Injury & Could 'Miss Games'

Chelsea's Eden Hazard, who was nominated for the 2017 Ballon d'Or this week along with 29 other stars, has admitted that he is still working through the recovery process of the broken ankle he suffered in June.

After being unable to participate in pre-season, Hazard missed Chelsea's first two Premier League games of the season, eventually getting his first minutes of the campaign at Under-23 level in Premier League 2 in late August.

His first start came against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup on 20th September, and he didn't start a Premier League game until 10 days later against Manchester City - Chelsea's most recent.

Speaking while on international duty with Belgium ahead of a final World Cup qualifier against Cyprus, Hazard, who is yet to score a goal this season, explained that a slow start after a long-term injury is only normal.

"I missed football for three months, it's not easy to come back after a big injury," the 26-year-old is quoted as saying by The Metro.

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"I worked during the summer - I just want to play football. I will miss some games, I will play bad for some games. I just want to play football and try to bring the best of me."

Hazard played his first full 90 minutes of the season on Saturday as Belgium, who booked their automatic place at next summer's World Cup last month, beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-3.

Chelsea will resume their Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on 14th October. David Luiz is ruled out of the game through suspension, while Alvaro Morata, N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater are doubts with injury.