Zinedine Zidane says he will slowly introduce Eden Hazard into his Real Madrid team after his recovery from a thigh injury.
Hazard joined Real in a huge summer deal, with the La Liga giants eventually expected to pay Chelsea £130million for the Belgium international when several clauses are met.
However, he has yet to feature for his new club in a competitive game but is now closing in on a return to full fitness.
Hazard is training again and Zidane says he is “ready” although he will be cautious about how often he plays to begin with.
“Regarding Hazard, we have to go little by little,” Zidane told reporters at a news conference on Friday.
“He has been injured for three weeks. He was back training this week. We have to go carefully with him. We know what the situation is, he is ready and that’s the most important thing.
“I will give him minutes here and there, not trying to push him too much to get the best out of him. We have seven games in 21 days and we need to use our heads with Hazard.”
Hazard could make his much-anticipated Real debut this weekend when Zidane’s side host Levante on Saturday.
However, the 28-year-old may have to settle for a place on the bench, judging by the French coach’s comments.
Real have made an unbeaten start to the new season, winning once and drawing twice so far, but will be expected to get another three points when Levante visit the Bernabeu, despite their opponents currently sitting above them in the table after winning two of their three games so far.
