England star Jude Bellingham has not hit the heights that many had hoped at Euro 2024, outside of his brilliant overhead kick against Slovakia – some in England have even called for him to be dropped. His club side got the best of him until around February, but Real Madrid are concerned now.
Head Scout Juni Calafat watched Bellingham in action during England’s semi-final against the Netherlands, and Diario AS say that he was concerned by what he saw. After the match Calafat stayed in the stands discussing Bellingham’s fitness with his family, fearing that he is ‘at the limit’ physically. Los Blancos are keen to give him as much love and protection as they can currently.
Meanwhile there is also the issue of his shoulder injury in the background. Relevo report that Real Madrid do not want to consider surgery on his shoulder, which he dislocated in November. It’s an injury that he has been carrying since, and has been playing with considerable pain, at times taking painkillers for it, and wearing NFL-style support for it. The positive is that it has not dislocated again, but the pain refuses to die down, and it will likely require surgery to fix it for good – that in turn would mean multiple months out of action.
At just 21, Bellingham played 3,644 minutes for Real Madrid alone this season, and had it not been for a muscle injury, may well have come close to the 4,000-minute mark. Meanwhile at Euro 2024, Bellingham has missed just 19 minutes of England’s campaign, with two extra times involved in their last three games too. Given how key he was last season, Los Blancos’ concern is understandable.
