Football
Mark Rodden 8y

Belgium's Eden Hazard can face Wales without training - Marc Wilmots

Belgium coach Marc Wilmots says captain Eden Hazard can still face Wales in their Euro 2016 quarterfinal on Friday, even if he ends up doing no training this week.

Hazard, 25, has not trained since scoring in Belgium's 4-0 win over Hungary in the round of 16 on Sunday after picking up a knock which eventually led to his substitution.

Wilmots said he hoped the Chelsea midfielder would be able to take part in Thursday's session ahead of Friday's game, but that it was not essential.

"Eden is still feeling some discomfort in his thigh," Wilmots told a news conference. "I can't really say how it's going to go. The medical staff are doing their work and we're waiting.

"Will Eden be able to play on Friday without having trained on Thursday? It's possible."

Meanwhile, Belgium winger Dries Mertens is expecting another tough game against Wales in Lille.

The two sides know each other well after meeting in qualifying for both the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.

Belgium topped their most recent qualifying group, but in the two games between the pair, they were held scoreless in Brussels and lost 1-0 to Wales in Cardiff.

"They have a defence that's hard to score against," Mertens told RTBF. "Against them you would say you have the match under control and all of a sudden they score a goal.

"Their progression [to the last eight] is not really a surprise for me. We played against them and saw that they're a good team. They've climbed up the world rankings and that's not by chance.

"There's not only [Gareth] Bale in this team. There's [Aaron] Ramsey too and other players. They have a complete team."

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