Bellingham to miss start of season after shoulder surgery

Jude Bellingham, a midfielder for Real Madrid and England, is expected to miss at least the first six weeks of next season due to shoulder surgery following the Club World Cup.

Real have scheduled the operation for when the American football championship is over, and the 21-year-old has been dealing with a persistent shoulder issue since 2023.

After initially missing two games for both Madrid and England at the end of 2023 because of a shoulder injury sustained against Rayo Vallecano, the former Birmingham City midfielder has now had strapping on his shoulder.

Between June 15 and July, the expanded 32-team Club World Cup will take place in the US.

Bellingham is expected to miss the entire preseason and at least the first six weeks of the new campaign, which would also include missing England’s World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia in September.

With questions still unanswered regarding the selection of players for the Club World Cup, England manager Thomas Tuchel will announce his squad for the qualifier against Andorra and the friendly against Senegal on Friday.

Bellingham made a major splash after joining Borussia Dortmund for £115 million in his first season in Spain.

With 23 goals in 43 appearances, he helped Madrid win the La Liga title and the Champions League.