Jude Bellingham being so good that he can play with one hand behind sounds like a made up sentence but there is genuinely truth to it.
Bellingham has been a complete and utter revelation since his £88.5 million move to Real Madrid, scoring a ridiculous 16 goals in his first 18 games.
He was on target yet again on Saturday, finding the net in a 1-1 draw against Real Betis.
The Golden Boy winner may well be the best player in world football at the moment and has been tipped to win the Ballon d'Or if he continues his fine form.
However, his displays are made even more impressive given the former Borussia Dortmund man is playing with an injury at the moment.
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Bellingham dislocated his left shoulder on November 5 in a 0-0 draw with Rayo Vallecano and spent a brief period on the sidelines as a result.
He played no part in England's final Euro 2024 qualifiers before returning to action with a goal in a 3-0 win over Cadiz before bagging against Napoli.
Yet the 20-year-old has been playing with shoulder protection imported from the NFL, as per The Athletic .
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The type of protection has been used in the Premier League and is designed to
ease pain and reduce the possibility of dislocation occuring again.
Surgery will likely be the best practice for Bellingham but understandably he does not want to be on the shelf recovering after a dream start.
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And similarly Real cannot afford their talisman be missing given the extent of their injury issues.
In addition, Bellingham will not want to run the risk of missing Euro 2024 in Germany.
And so he has been taking precautions. Others players targeted his shoulder and he challenged with one arm behind his back in some set pieces.
In the event he ended up on the turf, he made sure to get his arm up quickly in a bid to minimise contact.
Topics: Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham, La Liga, England
Josh Lawless