He was Real Madrid's forgotten man not so long ago, but Eden Hazard is set for another opportunity in the first team this weekend as Karim Benzema misses out through injury.
Benzema went off injured after half an hour of Madrid's Champions League clash against Celtic in Glasgow on Tuesday night and was replaced by Hazard.
The Belgian, who was making his third substitute appearance of the season, provided an assist for Luka Modric and added a goal himself in a 3-0 win for Los Blancos at Celtic Park.
And with Benzema expected to be sidelined for around three weeks with what Madrid described as "an injury to the semitendinosus tendon and a strain to the quadricep muscle in his right thigh", Hazard is set for another opportunity in LaLiga on Sunday.
"Hazard did well when he came on against Celtic," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday ahead of the game at home to Mallorca. "Tomorrow I'll play him. Let's hope he can repeat with another great match."
And asked if the idea would change with the Belgian in the team, he said: "When Hazard came on in the game against Celtic, we had the same system.
"Hazard doesn't have the same goals record as Karim because he hasn't played for some time. I won't ask him to score goals, just to play as he did against Celtic, and keep the same attacking attitude."
Hazard, signed from Chelsea for an initial €100 million in 2019, has scored just seven times in 69 appearances for Los Blancos.
Now in his fourth season at the Santiago Bernabeu, the 31-year-old is still looking to prove himself in what has been a desperately disappointing transfer so far.
