Jude Bellingham is set to undergo shoulder surgery after Real Madrid’s participation at the revamped Club World Cup this summer, which is expected to rule him out for the opening months of the 2025-26 season.
The England midfielder dislocated his left shoulder in November 2023 in a league match against Rayo Vallecano. He missed the next four matches for Madrid and England but has played on since, often with strapping on his shoulder.
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Specialists consulted by The Athletic indicated that Bellingham will likely be sidelined for around 12 weeks while he recovers from the operation, which is likely to take place in July. That will leave Madrid without one of their key players for a chunk of the next campaign.
So what does this mean for Madrid? How much will they miss Bellingham? And will it have an impact on their summer plans?
Why now?
Bellingham has been able to manage the injury since it occurred in late 2023, and that season Madrid went on to be crowned champions of Europe and Spain. He also had the 2024 European Championship to look forward to last summer, where England reached the final and were beaten by Spain.
This season has not gone so well for Bellingham or Madrid, but there has always been the Club World Cup at the end of it, which is important for the club on a number of levels — to win a prestigious title at the end of a disappointing campaign, to grow their brand in the United States and boost their finances too, with the champions taking home up to $125million (£93m).
The tournament runs from June 14 to July 13, with Madrid in Group H along with Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, Mexican team Pachuca and Red Bull Salzburg. Their opening match is against Al Hilal in Miami on June 18. Madrid are the favourites to win the tournament, with the final in New York on July 13.
If they go deep in the competition, then it would be mid-to-late July at the earliest when Bellingham could have the surgery on his shoulder.
La Liga’s 2025-26 season will kick off in mid-August (the start date is not yet official) and the Champions League’s league stage begins on September 16.
England have four matches in September and October — three 2026 World Cup qualifiers (Andorra, Sept 6, Serbia, Sept 9 and Latvia, Oct 14) and a friendly against Wales on October 9.
If it takes Bellingham 12 weeks to recover, then a return date would be pencilled in for mid-to-late October.
How important is Bellingham to Madrid, and what impact will this have on the team?
Bellingham’s blend of elegant technique and fierce tenacity will be sorely missed in Madrid’s midfield.
His absence will be particularly felt in front of goal, where his ability to deliver in decisive moments, particularly late in games, has become invaluable. While he has not hit the heights of his stunning debut season, when he scored 19 goals, nine this campaign still represents a solid return for a midfielder.
Madrid will lose that uncanny ability to anticipate where the ball will drop in a crowded box. His equaliser against Leganes in March was a perfect example, with Bellingham sharpest to react when a shot cannoned off the crossbar.
Bellingham combines this on-ball brilliance with combative aggression off it. His 2.2 tackles per game rank fourth in the Real Madrid squad, behind Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos, and Lucas Vazquez, all of whom are more defensively minded players.
The arrival of Kylian Mbappe has seen Bellingham frequently occupy a deeper, wider role than last season, when he primarily operated just behind the striker. As a result, he has been tasked more with linking play between the lines, maintaining structure, and driving Madrid up the pitch.
And what about off the pitch?
Madrid are about to start a new era under their expected new coach Xabi Alonso, and there will be plenty of new faces beyond the coaching staff. Bellingham may still only be 21 years old, but he has already proven his importance to the team, on the field and in the dressing room.
In his two seasons with Madrid, the England international has established himself as one of the team’s leaders and has become one of the most vocal voices in the squad, even though he is not yet fluent in Spanish.
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Madrid lost a big figure when Toni Kroos retired in 2024, and if other veteran players such as Vazquez leave, then throw Bellingham’s extended spell out into the mix and the dressing room will be a quieter place.
His absence in those weeks and months could be felt far beyond what Madrid will lose on the pitch.
There is also the impending arrival of Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool to take into account. He and Bellingham are good friends and the latter will be key in Alexander-Arnold’s adaptation to life in Madrid and his integration to the first-team squad. That might be harder if Bellingham is not out there in training every day.
Do Madrid have options in their current squad to replace him?
Recalibrating the side to cope without Bellingham will be one of the first tasks in Alonso’s in-tray. Bellingham’s unique, all-action dynamic style is unmatched within the Madrid squad, so Alonso may have to split his role across multiple players.
Attacking-wise, Arda Guler has impressed across his cameo appearances this season, and trails only Mbappe for involvement in attacking sequences per 90.
But at 5ft 9in (175cm), Guler lacks Bellingham’s physical edge. Alonso may instead look to shore up the centre by turning to defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, just as Carlo Ancelotti did during Bellingham’s two-game suspension earlier this season. Looking further ahead, the bigger question is how Alonso deploys a fully fit Bellingham in his system. The freedom that Ancelotti afforded Bellingham suited his marauding, off-the-cuff style, which may not mesh as easily if Alonso adopts a more structured approach.
As the graph shows below, Bellingham, like most of Real Madrid midfielders, has a tendency to hold on to the ball, whereas Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen midfield is defined by quick and incisive short passes.
If Alonso implements a similar approach at Madrid, Bellingham may have to rein in his creative freedoms. But with his supreme talent, he will undoubtedly adapt to whatever tactics the new manager decides on.
Might the club try to strengthen in Bellingham’s position this summer?
Madrid will be very active in the transfer market this summer and have already met the release clause of Dean Huijsen to sign the young Spain centre-back from Premier League side Bournemouth. This was a signing that Alonso pushed for and it is likely that Madrid will look very different come the start of 2025-26.
Alexander-Arnold is set to join when his contract with Liverpool expires, and the club are also in talks with Benfica for left-back Alvaro Carreras.
After the heavy Clasico defeat at Montjuic that effectively ended the title race, The Athletic reported that Madrid were not ruling out reinforcements (or sales) in other positions too, and that includes midfield.
Important figures at the club have agreed that Kroos’ departure last summer weighed far more heavily than they expected at the time, which has led them to review the situation in midfield.
Bellingham’s absence may be a factor in what they do this summer. Alonso’s first impressions of his squad will be important, as will the club’s performance at the Club World Cup and whether any players are sold in the transfer window.
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Madrid’s chief scout, Juni Calafat, and his staff have been preparing detailed reports on potential targets for some time and, though the identity of their priority target(s) is unclear the profile of what they are after is not. They value a player with quality and a good touch who can help connect the team’s play in the centre of the pitch.
One name to keep in mind is Nico Paz. Madrid sold 50 per cent of the midfielder’s rights to the Italian side Como for €6million last summer, retaining a right of first refusal and several buy-back clauses until 2027. The first of those makes him available at €8million in 2025. The 20-year-old Argentina international has been superb for Como this season but would be keen on a return to Madrid if he were given a real opportunity to demonstrate his talent.
Madrid will be meeting Paz’s agents to discuss his situation soon.
(Additional contributor: Conor O’Neill)
(Top photo: Bellingham during Euro 2024. Credit: Ryan Pierse – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
