Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham is expected to be sidelined for about a month after suffering a calf injury during training on Friday, according to Spanish reports.
“Following tests conducted today on Jude Bellingham by Real Madrid’s medical team, the player has been diagnosed with an injury to the plantaris muscle in his right leg,” the club stated, without specifying the duration of his absence.
Bellingham will miss La Liga matches against Real Valladolid, Las Palmas, and Real Betis, as well as England’s Nations League fixtures against the Republic of Ireland and Finland in September.
“(Bellingham) took a knock, and we’re evaluating it,” Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said at a press conference earlier on Friday.
Bellingham, 21, was instrumental in Madrid’s successful Champions League and La Liga campaigns last season. In the first two matches of the current season, he has played in a central midfield role to accommodate the arrival of striker Kylian Mbappe, after playing in a more advanced position last season.
Bellingham will target a return in time for Madrid’s first Champions League match of the season, scheduled between September 17-19.
