Reece James has led the tributes on Instagram to the news that former Chelsea star Eden Hazard has retired from international duty.
The Red Devils’ captain announced his decision to step down from Belgium duty after a horrific World Cup showing.
In a group with Croatia and Morocco, a 2-0 loss to Hakim Ziyech’s side put them in a precarious position going into the final match.
Despite a number of big chances for Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku, they were unable to get the goal that would see them advance from the group stages of the competition.
Hazard was only handed a number of minutes in that game. His injury record since leaving Stamford Bridge has been tough to say the least.
Now though, he has decided to limit some of his footballing workload by making the decision to retire from the national team.
James pays tribute to Hazard
His emotional Instagram post saw him praised by a number of players, including Thibaut Courtois, Vini Jr, and Michy Batshuayi.
Chelsea’s Reece James also made his admiration for Hazard known.
Hazard enjoyed a number of promising tournaments with Belgium, most notably the 2018 World Cup where he was an individual.
However, he will always be disappointed that the ‘golden generation’ of football for that country never got any closer to an international trophy than third place.
The England international on the other hand was unfortunate to miss out on the opportunity to be involved in the outstanding tournament Gareth Southgate’s side are enjoying.
Injury ruined his chances of competing in Qatar, however he has now returned to training with the first team during their warm weather camp in Abu Dhabi.
His return will be massive for Graham Potter, who felt the effects of a number of his best players missing through injury in the weeks leading up to the season break.
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