Zinedine Zidane Says Rodrygo Won't Play in Madrid Derby, Talks Eden Hazard Form

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has confirmed Rodrygo Goes will not be involved in Saturday's huge La Liga showdown with Atletico Madrid.

The youngster made his debut for Los Blancos on Wednesday and scored within two minutes of coming onto the field. Naturally, his performance has prompted plenty of excitement among Madridistas about what he will be able to offer in the future.

However, Rodrygo will not take to the field at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday, with Zidane confirming the Brazilian will instead join up with the Castilla setup, per Dom Farrell of Goal:

"We know what we're doing with Rodrygo and today he trained with Castilla, tomorrow he's going to play with Castilla.

"He's a first-team player and I'm very happy with what happened the other day. But we and he knows we're going to go bit by bit with him. We had already taken the decision (over him playing for Castilla this weekend) and for the next game we will see."

Rodrygo's transfer from Santos was confirmed in 2018, although he only moved to the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer.

He replaced Vinicius Jr. in the 2-0 league win over Osasuna and was able to get secure the game with this fantastic goal:

Afterwards, the 18-year-old tried to play down some of the hype that was set to inevitably gather in the coming days:

Zidane turned to Rodrygo against Osasuna instead of Eden Hazard, who was on the bench for the duration of the game.

So far, the Belgium international has only started one La Liga match following his transfer from Chelsea, as he's struggled with injury issues. Zidane was asked about his inactivity against Osasuna and backed the player to excel.

"Listen, we know the quality of player we have and we know that he's going to deliver," he said. "He did it the other day in Seville. I'm sure everyone expects a lot from him; he knows that. We're supporting him; he's with us. Game-by-game I'm sure he's going to be the player that we want him to be here in this Real Madrid team."

Per WhoScored.com, while Zidane was pleased with Hazard's display on Sunday, the winger was profligate in possession:

It's games like Saturday's away to a rival that Madrid would have bought Hazard for, and the player himself will be desperate to shine on what promises to be an atmospheric stage. In the recent 3-0 loss away at Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League, he failed to make his mark.

The fact Rodrygo isn't in the squad will disappoint some Madrid supporters, as he lit up the Bernabeu on debut. However, with Hazard poised to start and Vinicius the man likely to provide an alternative option on the left flank, allowing the youngster to get minutes with the reserve side appears to be a sensible decision from Zidane.