Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham suffered an injury during a training session on Friday and is set to remain on the sidelines for an undefined period, confirmed the club in a brief statement.
Bellingham, 21, who joined Los Blancos last year from Borussia Dortmund, is considered one of the most important players in the team and combines with Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo in the team’s attack.
The Englishman’s injury came just two days before Madrid host Real Valladolid in their first home game of the season at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
"Following tests carried out today on our player Jude Bellingham by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with an injury to the plantar thin muscle of his right leg. Pending evaluation.," read the statement from Real Madrid.
As per sources close to the club, Bellingham will be out for a month and will miss the matches against Real Valladolid, Las Palmas, Real Betis, and Real Sociedad while he remains a doubt for the clashes against Espanyol and Alaves.
The 21-year-old became the fourth player who will be out for La Liga’s clash on Sunday as David Alaba and Eduardo Camavinga are recovering from injuries while left-back Ferland Mendy is suspended after getting a red card in the season opener against Mallorca.
With the Englishman set to be sidelined for about a month, Turkish prodigy Arda Guler is the favourite to replace him in the playing XI as he is liked by head coach Carlo Ancelotti and has impressed the Italian during training sessions.
Brahim Diaz and veteran midfielder Luka Modric are other names who could replace Bellingham but as of now, Guler is likely to combine with Mbappe, Vinicius and Rodrygo in the attack.
