Revealed: Real Madrid sensation Jude Bellingham may need surgery on shoulder injury but is attempting to play through the pain

The 20-year-old dislocated his shoulder against Rayo Vallecano in early November and was forced to withdraw from England's recent Euro 2024 qualifiers as a result of the problem. The midfielder has been playing through the pain of late and scored in Madrid's 4-2 Champions League win over Napoli on Wednesday, meaning he became the first player to score in each of his first four appearances for Los Blancos in the competition. Now, The Athletic claim surgery 'is an option to completely resolve the issue', however, there are no plans at present for him to go under the knife. The report adds that if he were to have the operation, it would likely take two months to recover.

Bellingham has been nothing short of remarkable for Madrid since joining the Spanish side in the summer from Borussia Dortmund and his goal against Napoli was his 15th in 16 appearances for the European giants. Madrid are top of La Liga on goal difference ahead of Girona and four points ahead of Barcelona, so losing Bellingham, who is wearing shoulder protection during games, could be a huge blow for their silverware-chasing chances. Madrid's next top scorers behind the England international are Rodrygo (eight), Vinicius Junior (six) and Joselu (six).

Following Madrid's win over Cadiz at the weekend, manager Carlo Ancelotti said: “He had and has the problem. But with the protection, he is fine. So he played a very good game today (Sunday).”

Madrid take on Granada in La Liga on Saturday. It remains to be seen what course of action Los Blancos will take with Bellingham's injury.