Jude Bellingham 'facing potential three-month spell out' as injury fears raised

Jude Bellingham could miss the start of the 2024/25 season if a long-term issue does not improve at this summer's European Championship, it has emerged.

The 20-year-old midfielder, who recently lifted the Champions League with Real Madrid, has been given a week off to rest before reporting back to the England camp ahead of Euro 2024.

It's been a strenuous season for the former Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund man, who has made 47 appearances in all competitions for club and country.

And the Ballon d'Or contender has been playing through the pain barrier for large parts of the season after he dislocated his left shoulder in a 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano on November 5.

In fact, ahead of the Champions League final on Saturday, footage emerged of Bellingham holding his shoulder on multiple occasions.

The pain has increased throughout the final stretch of the season, according to a report from Spanish outlet Cadena SER, who suggest the injury has "greatly reduced his performance".

In addition to those suggestions, the report claims that if the "conservative treatment" does not work in the coming weeks, then he will have no other choice but to undergo surgery.

If he does end up going under the knife, then Bellingham will be out for approximately three months. This means he would miss pre-season and the start of the La Liga campaign.

Back in November, a source from the medical profession told The Athletic that “conservative treatment” was usually the first response but “once a shoulder is out, the player will feel pain and this pain usually does not repair itself”.

They added: “You can live with it as long as you can deal with it. Then you have to operate.”

A month after he suffered the injury, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said Bellingham may need surgery if the pain persisted.

“The shoulder is something he has to look after to strengthen it on his own. He hasn’t had any problem to play, and every day that goes by, he is improving in that sense.”

When pressed if Bellingham might need surgery, Ancelotti added: “Not right now. The shoulder is very particular. If it happens again or keeps happening, maybe, but we will see.”