England and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham has undergone successful surgery on a long-standing shoulder injury, ruling him out of the start of the 2025/26 season.
The 22-year-old midfielder, who has been battling the issue since dislocating his shoulder in a clash against Rayo Vallecano back in 2023, is now expected to miss Real Madrid’s entire pre-season and at least the first six weeks of the campaign. That includes England’s World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia in September.
Real confirmed the news in a statement on Wednesday, adding that Bellingham will now begin a period of rehabilitation before returning to training.
The timing of the operation was carefully planned. The Spanish giants delayed the surgery until after the Club World Cup in the United States, where they suffered a semi-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last week.
Bellingham, who arrived at the Bernabéu from Borussia Dortmund in a £115million deal two years ago, has already left his mark on Spanish football. He starred in his debut campaign, scoring 23 goals and lifting both the La Liga title and Champions League. Last season, however, proved more challenging—he netted just 15 times in 58 appearances as Real lost the league crown to bitter rivals Barcelona and were dumped out of the Champions League by Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
New manager Xabi Alonso, who took over from Carlo Ancelotti in June, will now have to prepare for the La Liga opener against Osasuna on 19 August without his marquee midfielder.
Bellingham, who has often been seen wearing shoulder strapping, admitted in June he was “tired of playing with the sling”. Now, fans will hope the surgery finally puts an end to his discomfort and allows him to return stronger.
