LONDON -- Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink says that Eden Hazard must play like a kid to rediscover his best form, and says he is wary of giving too much advice to incoming first-team head coach Antonio Conte.
Shorn of confidence and plagued by hip and groin injuries since the turn of the year, Hazard has been a shadow of the player who inspired Chelsea to the Premier League title with 14 goals and nine assists last season, failing to score in 26 appearances in the competition this term.
Hiddink says that Hazard is "on the edge" of full fitness as he battles to recover from the lingering hip problem that has sidelined him since last month's Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge, but the Belgian will not be available for the visit of Manchester City on Saturday.
Barring any further setbacks, Hiddink is optimistic that Hazard should be back for Chelsea's clash with Bournemouth on April 23, and is urging the 25-year-old to rely on his instincts rather than overthink his decisions on the pitch when he returns.
"Last year everything was beautiful, and this year everything is dark for him," Hiddink said of Hazard. "The contrast is huge. Normally you have a beautiful season and it's difficult to get a second season like that, but not as drastic [a decline] as he has experienced.
"He's had a difficult time. Some guys are more outspoken than others and he's quite quiet, but the worries are there if you're the best player and then one year later you're hardly playing.
"In the last days I saw him training very spontaneously. I think you have to go down that road and try to avoid a lot of thinking about causes [for his slump in form] which might not be there. He must go like that into the games as well.
"Always you come back [to top form] by trying to play like kids play. Just go out and play and try to think in the moment what you are doing, and not what is in the past or the future.
"If you see his skills in training when he is doing spontaneous actions, which he did this week in two or three training [sessions], you see that by nature they are perfect."
Sympathy for Hazard's plight has been limited among Chelsea supporters, down in large part to an interview published by Le Parisien on the eve of a crucial Champions League clash with PSG in February in which the Belgian refused to rule out a possible summer move to the French giants or Real Madrid.
Hazard has also faced accusations of a lack of commitment due to his body language on the pitch this season, but Hiddink believes this is simply a result of the 25-year-old's introverted personality.
"He has proven that he can be at a high level," Hiddink added. "Some people express themselves in a different way than others, so you must always be careful in your judgement when someone is a bit more introverted.
"It's difficult to make a harsh judgement on a lack of commitment. The next period will be very interesting for him -- not just this season, but also the Euros and next season. I hope that he uses his quality in a way that he doesn't think too much ahead or back."
Speculation linking Hazard with Madrid will not go away, and earlier this week the Belgian publicly denied reports that an agreement is already in place to take him to Santiago Bernabeu this summer. But whatever the player's wishes, Hiddink insists he must prove himself again at Stamford Bridge first.
"If someone -- I'm not talking about [Hazard] specifically -- has other plans in his career, he has to show it where he is at the present time," Hiddink added. "If he has plans in his career then he must show it where he is playing now in the near future."
Asked if he expects Hazard to still be at Chelsea next season, Hiddink replied: "He has a contract for four more years [until June 2020]. It's something for the upcoming management."
Last week Chelsea confirmed that Conte will succeed Hiddink on a three-year contract at the conclusion of Italy's Euro 2016 campaign, and the 46-year-old will be tasked with reviving the club's fortunes after the most disappointing season of the Roman Abramovich era.
Hiddink says he will be available to advise Chelsea and Conte beyond the end of his contract, but insists that the new manager must be given the chance to form his own impressions of the situation at Stamford Bridge.
"Maybe I will leave him a little note!" Hiddink joked before adding, "[Conte and his team] are coming here, and they know they are coming here with the existing technical director and his team.
"They judge also and they make analysis, from the good period recently and also from the previous time. They will analyse very profoundly what I did and the situation. But I don't want to leave my footprint on a path they have to create, because everyone has a different view."