"I'm out of patience," Jude Bellingham said with a smile in the press conference room inside the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, after Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Pachuca at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Bellingham, who was named Man of the Match, has just responded to a shoulder injury that has plagued him since November 2023. Since then, he has wear a protective bracelet. Now, the England international has confirmed the information that has been widely spread in the press: Bellingham will have to undergo surgery.
"Now I'm at a point where the pain is no longer so bad. It's just that I'm getting bored with this bracelet more. The players kept pulling it, and it kept moving. The hot weather is really uncomfortable. I lost too much weight because of sweat. I have scheduled surgery after the tournament. I will go fix it. It's been waiting for me for a long time," Bellingham said on June 22.
That surgery took place last week. "The comeback process has begun. See you soon" - Bellingham posted on Instagram along with a photo taken from the hospital bed.
However, Bellingham's return time is not early. The player is expected to be absent for 10 to 12 weeks, meaning he will return in early October. Up to that point, Real Madrid have played 8 matches in La Liga and 2 matches in the UEFA Champions League.
This is a calculated risk. Real Madrid could have scheduled surgery for Bellingham right after the 2024-2025 La Liga season ends or even sooner. At that time, they were almost eliminated from the championship race. If he had surgery early, Bellingham would be back in time for the start of the new season.
However, Los Blancos have chosen to keep Bellingham to compete in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. This means Real will have to accept losing him for most of the next season.
New coach Xabi Alonso described Bellingham as "a core part of the team," and the way he uses the English midfielder has proven that. Bellingham started all 6 matches at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, with the number of minutes respectively being 84, 60, 82, 90, 67 and 64.
The former Dortmund player scored one goal against Pachuca - where he was voted the Best Player - and had a classy assist for Vinicius Junior against RB Salzburg.
Overall, Bellingham is one of the most influential players in the team's playing style, along with striker Gonzalo Garcia, full-back Fran Garcia and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Despite moving from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 formation, Bellingham's role remains the same: playing in the attacking midfield position in front of the duo Federico Valverde and Arda Guler.
"I consider Bellingham a midfielder. He has the ability to cover many areas, but he has to start in the right position. Bellingham has the spirit of a central midfielder.
He likes to get involved in the ball deployment and can penetrate the penalty area, but his starting point will be the key. That will help him a lot" - Alonso said on his Real Madrid debut.
Bellingham will start the new season at the gym, and Alonso has been forced to build a squad without him, at least for the first few months. According to Spanish media, Real Madrid currently have no plans to recruit more midfielders, unless there is a surprise departure.
"With what we have, we can dominate the midfield," Alonso said.
The question now is who is capable of replacing Bellingham - who can both participate in defense and make a breakthrough in the penalty area?
