As Real Madrid gear up for their Champions League encounter against Olympiacos in Athens this evening, the club have received a major blow in the lead up to the contest.
That is because Jude Bellingham appears to have picked up an overload and might not be able to featurei in the starting eleven.
This has been confirmed by MARCA, which suggests that the midfielder is suffering from a calf straight and could run the risk of injury.
Bellingham to start on the bench
The report does add that Bellingham is not injured. But his calf strain means he could potentially get injured if the calf doesn’t react well during the game.
Real Madrid are not willing to take that risk and are expected to bench him for tonight’s game against Olympiacos.
Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid player
Bellingham’s frustrating run with fitness problems continue. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
The Spanish giants will be grateful that the issue popped up before the game and not during the game, which could surely have had negative ramifications on Bellingham’s form.
In any case, this will be frustrating for the English international, who was just starting to get back into the groove after a slow start to the campaign after a tricky recovery.
He even scored and assisted a goal in the weekend draw with Elche.
With Bellingham starting on the bench, one would expect someone like Arda Guler to take up his position, especially with Aurelien Tchouameni returning to operate in the deeper midfield role.
As for Bellingham himself, he momentarily joins a long list of players dealing with knocks right now, including Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Franco Mastantuono, David Alaba and Dean Huijsen.
The former Dortmund midfielder, though, will be hopeful of returning to full fitness when Real Madrid take on Girona on the weekend.