Eden Hazard counsels patience as he belatedly starts his Chelsea season

Eden Hazard cautioned Chelsea fans that he is not yet fully back to his full abilities after his injury. No matter. Any (healthy) Eden Hazard is better than no Eden Hazard.

Eden Hazard survived Roberto Martinez’s apparent vendetta against Premier League teams, returning to Chelsea without any new injuries. His Belgian teammate Marouane Fellaini was not so lucky, and Romelu Lukaku escaped despite being rushed back into a dead rubber match as soon as he was medically cleared.

Despite playing too many minutes and scoring a raft of goals for Belgium, Hazard does not yet feel he is near top form. He candidly acknowledged that his performances will be somewhat less than the fans have come to expect, and that everyone – including himself – needs to be patient with him while he returns to his usual level of play.

"I missed football for three months [and] it’s not easy to come back after a big injury but I did… I will miss some games, I will play bad for some games. I just want to play football and try to bring the best of me. – Evening Standard"

Antonio Conte may hope to rest Eden Hazard at the earliest opportunity on Saturday. If the Blues have a comfortable lead by the hour mark, Conte may substitute Hazard to offer him more recovery time before AS Roma midweek. Three Premier League points are the objective more than goal differential or additional pitch time.

He will carry additional pressure to score in Alvaro Morata’s absence. Morata has said several times that he is working hard to return as quickly as possible. But the most optimistic projection has him as a “maybe” for next week’s Champions League game. Without Morata, Hazard will shoulder the responsibility both to create and score Chelsea’s goals. Hopefully he will get support from his teammates, but that would require Willian and Cesc Fabregas in particular to awake from their stupor on Saturday afternoon.

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If there was one benefit to the international break it is the amount of pitch time Eden Hazard shared with Michy Batshuayi. These two are likely partners on Chelsea’s front line for the coming weeks. Unless, of course, Conte truly, madly, deeply hates Batshuayi – a distinct possibility. In that case, Hazard will have even more work to do as he assumes the offensive duties of both Willian and Pedro, who have yet to emerge as useful forces for Chelsea this season.

The game against Crystal Palace would otherwise be a top opportunity for Hazard’s compatriot Charly Musonda to come on for an extended substitute appearance. However, the younger Belgian Kenedy’d* his chances, and Conte will likely give the relief duty to Pedro instead.

Many of Hazard’s teammates needed the first run of games to find their rhythm this season. Cesar Azpilicueta and N’Golo Kante showed signs of a slow warm-up, which stood out given their usual stability and constancy. Hazard deserves a similar adjustment curve, as he essentially starts his season in match-week eight.

Next: Predicted XI vs. Crystal Palace: No Kante, no Morata, no 3-5-2

*Kenedy, v. To undo years of effort as a Chelsea prospect with an ill-considered social media post, thus consigning yourself to another loan or a spot on the bench so far from the starting XI that it’s practically on The King’s Road.