Brits Abroad: Jude Bellingham sparks World Cup fears with new injury blow as Marcus Rashford continues to thrive in super-sub role

Jude Bellingham missed the start of the season to recover from surgery on a persistent shoulder issue, but has been one of Real Madrid's most consistent performers since his return, racking up 10 goal contributions in 28 appearances across all competitions. He limped off with a new issue after just 10 minutes of Sunday's clash with Rayo Vallecano, though, sparking initial fears over his availability for the remainder of the season, and for England's World Cup campaign over the summer.

There was visible concern among the Madrid players and staff as Bellingham pulled up screaming in pain after chasing a loose ball, and he eventually left the field in tears. Pictures from the warm-up indicated that the 22-year-old had been feeling discomfort in his hamstring, but he still started the game - a decision which head coach Alvaro Arbeloa may now be regretting.

Madrid ground out a dramatic 2-1 win without Bellingham, but all the post-match talk was dominated by speculation over whether the star midfielder will be facing another long spell on the sidelines. Fortunately for Los Blancos and England, that does not appear to be the case.

The club have since confirmed that Bellingham suffered an "injury to the semitendinosus muscle in his left leg", and Diario AS reports that he will only be out for a month. The former Borussia Dortmund man is set to miss four La Liga games and Madrid's Champions League play-off tie against Benfica, but should be back to full fitness in time for the finishing stretch of the season.

Relief will be filtering through the Madrid camp, given Bellingham is arguably second only to Kylian Mbappe in terms of importance as they chase down multiple trophies once again. He will, however, be left short on time to convince England boss Thomas Tuchel that he deserves the No.10 spot in the team for the World Cup, with Morgan Rogers, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer also staking strong claims.

Madrid's latest victory was not enough to put them on top in La Liga because Barcelona eased to a 3-1 win at Elche to preserve their one-point lead. Hansi Flick's side really should have won by more, too, as they posted 28 shots to the home side's eight and enjoyed 62 percent possession in a typically scintillating display, building on their 4-1 rout of Copenhagen in the Champions League last Wednesday.

Rashford came off the bench to score Barca's final goal against Copenhagen, and repeated the trick on Saturday after replacing Raphinha at the interval. The Manchester United loanee smashed into the roof of the net in the 72nd minute after reacting quickest to get to a deflected Lamine Yamal pass across the face of the goal, redeeming himself for missing a one-on-one chance moments earlier.

That was only the fourth league goal Rashford has scored for Barca, but he's up to 10 in all competitions and has also laid on 12 assists. The 28-year-old has proven to be a very useful signing for Flick, even while having to embrace a super-sub role for much of the campaign.

Indeed, only 18 of Rashford's 32 appearances for Barca have come as a starter, but they have been able to rely on him making a decisive impact from the bench. The England international was particularly impressive against Elche, completing 12 of his 13 passes in the opposition half, and ensured that Raphinha wasn't missed after he picked up a knock.

It has been reported that Michael Carrick wants Rashford back at United if he is given the permanent manager's role in the summer, but it would make more sense for all parties if he joined Barca outright. Without the pressure of being the main man, Rashford has rediscovered his passion for the game, and shown he can still cut it at the highest level.

Harry Kane had another good week on a personal level, scoring against PSV and Hamburg in the Champions League and Bundesliga, respectively, but there were more signs that Bayern are struggling as a collective. Vincent Kompany's side could only beat PSV 2-1, and they had to settle for a disappointing 2-2 draw away at Hamburg, which further opened up the Bundesliga title race after their shock defeat to Augsburg last week. 

Bayern looked like they would storm to a second successive domestic crown after winning 16 of their first 18 games, but are now only six points clear at the summit, and seem to have lost some fluidity in recent matches. Kane produced a smart turn and finish to score against Hamburg, and Luis Diaz notched a fine goal of his own, but Bayern did not create as much as they would have liked, and Hamburg made them pay on the break.

Referee Harm Osmers drew the ire of several Bayern stars, though, including Kane, for awarding Hamburg a first half-penalty and waving away several of the visitors' own spot-kick claims. Kane is alleged to have branded the official "the worst I've ever met in football", while Josip Stanisic termed Osmers' performance as "catastrophic". Kompany, meanwhile, expressed his belief that "clear situations were made complicated" when speaking to the media after the game.

Kane, who brought up his 36th goal of the season at the Volksparkstadion, was more measured after the heat of battle had died down, as he said: "It was a tough game against a good team - especially at home, with the fans and the atmosphere. The first half was difficult, it was probably 50-50. Nevertheless, we had our moments where we could have done better in the final third."

He added on Bayern's stuttering title defence: "The season is still long, there's no reason to get nervous. We just have to prepare well."

Those were the words of a true leader who will continue to demand the highest standards from himself and his team-mates, but Bayern must get their swagger back quickly, starting with a must-win home game against high-flying Hoffeinheim next Sunday.

Dortmund capitalised on Bayern's draw by beating Heidenheim 3-2 at Signal Iduna Park on Sunday, with Serhou Guirassy netting a brace and Waldemar Anton also on the scoresheet. That was BVB's fourth Bundesliga win on the bounce, and an excited Nico Schlotterbeck declared the title race to be back on after the final whistle.

“I once heard that if you poke Bayern, they’ll wobble,” the centre-back told DAZN. “They’re headed our way [Bayern are due at Signal Iduna Park at the end of the month]. I think, as BVB we need to start saying ‘We want to be champions!’. We were a bit lucky to win today, but I don’t give a damn. We won!“

Dortmund will, however, need to up their game to keep their winning run going against Wolfsburg, Mainz and RB Leipzig before that blockbuster Klassiker meeting with Bayern, and it may be that Jobe Bellingham has to drop to the bench again in order for Niko Kovac's side to achieve that. The former Sunderland ace made his fifth consecutive start in all competitions against Heidenheim, but was hooked before the hour mark for fellow Englishman Carney Chukwuemeka, at which point Dortmund were 2-1 down.

Chukwuemeka added extra zip to BVB's play and they completed a swift comeback before the 70th minute, which must have left Bellingham with mixed emotions in the dugout. Injuries to key personnel have given him the chance to prove his worth, but so far, the jury is still out on the 20-year-old.

Bellingham was efficient enough, completing 93% of his passes, but he's still not commanding games in the same way he did at Sunderland. Dortmund need him to channel the spirit of his brother, Jude, ahead of a crucial run of fixtures that will make or break their title bid.

Marseille meekly exited the Champions League at the first hurdle after a dismal 3-0 defeat at Club Brugge in the final round of the league phase, which sparked reports that Roberto De Zerbi had handed in his resignation. However, the Italian coach then set the record straight, insisting that he remains fully committed to the French giants before vowing "to do everything to get back on track".

De Zerbi did not, though, get the immediate response from his players that he'd have hoped for. OM fell nine points behind champions and leaders Paris Saint-Germain in the Ligue 1 standings after blowing a two-goal lead away at Paris FC on Saturday.

Marseille held a healthy lead heading into the final 10 minutes thanks to a penalty from Mason Greenwood and a goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but then spectacularly collapsed to draw 2-2, leaving De Zerbi incensed. Pressed again on his future in a post-match press conference, the ex-Brighton boss said: "We need to understand that what we’ve done at present is not good enough. Don't worry about me. I'm always ready to go to war."

It does appear that De Zerbi does at least have one player who shares his attitude in the form of Greenwood. The Manchester United academy graduate dispatched his penalty with aplomb for his 21st goal of another stellar season before then providing a superb low cross for Aubameyang to double Marseille's advantage. He did everything within his power to deliver a precious three points to Marseille, registering four shots and five key passes in total.

The reality is that Greenwood just doesn't have enough quality around him. Marseille remain a second-rate team that cannot hope to realistically challenge for any major silverware, and they may well face an uphill battle to keep the 24-year-old at the club beyond the summer.

Che Adams has never been a prolific frontman, as evidenced by the fact that he only scored 48 goals in all competitions across his five-year spell at Southampton, but he is always a handful with his strong hold-up play and intelligent movement in behind. It's been the same story for the Scotland star since his 2024 move to Torino; plenty of endeavour but not much end product.

The 29-year-old did, however, net his fourth goal of the 2025-26 campaign on Sunday, and it was a vital one for Torino in their bid to pull clear of the relegation dogfight. In a six-pointer against 17th-placed Lecce, Adams was the difference-maker, as he ghosted in at the backpost to brilliantly convert a first-time volley in the first half, snapping his two-month barren spell in Serie A.

That ended up being the only goal of the game as the win took Torino up to 13th in the table, nine points above the drop zone. Adams was also deservedly named Player of the Match for an all-action display that saw him post three key passes, 10 carries and six ball recoveries.

"This performance today was important," head coach Marco Baroni told DAZN. "We showed unity and some key moves. We showed the ability to suffer and did what the team wanted. Congratulations to the lads."

No one in the Torino squad is more essential to that team unity than Adams, who sets a shining example with his work rate and resilience. It is precisely those qualities that should earn Adams a spot on Scotland's plane to the 2026 World Cup.