Jude Bellingham facing lengthy layoff after undergoing surgery on long-standing injury

Jude Bellingham could miss up to four England games after finally undergoing surgery to fix the shoulder issue that has plagued him in recent months.

The Real Madrid star, 22, will miss the start of the new season after going under the knife in London on Wednesday. And if Bellingham is, as expected, absent for at least the first six weeks of the 2025-26 campaign then he will not feature in England's next batch of fixtures.

Thomas Tuchel's men have World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia in September which Bellingham will miss. And he could also be absent from games against Wales and Latvia the following month depending on his recovery.

It emerged back in May that Bellingham would undergo shoulder surgery after featuring in the Club World Cup for Real Madrid.

And Los Blancos confirmed yesterday that the midfield maestro's surgery was done, though they declined to confirm how long they expect the former Borussia Dortmund star to be sidelined for.

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It's understood that Bellingham himself is targeting a return to action in October. Real Madrid kick off the new La Liga campaign at home to Osasuna on 19 August.

Xabi Alonso's side were eliminated from the Club World Cup at the semi-final stage after succumbing to the newly minted European champions, Paris Saint-Germain. Bellingham played in all six of Real's games at the tournament.

Bellingham has been dogged by issues since originally dislocating his left shoulder in a La Liga fixture with Rayo Vallecano back in November 2023.

Speaking last month ahead of the Club World Cup in the United States, Bellingham confirmed to reporters that he would soon go under the knife.

He said: "I've gotten to the point where the pain isn't so bad. I was tired of playing with the sling. I'm losing a lot of weight from sweating so much, and I’ll have surgery after the tournament.

"I've been waiting a while, and my patience is running out, but the physios and doctors have been incredible, and I want to feel free."

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