Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham has confirmed that he will undergo surgery on his shoulder after the Club World Cup, to resolve a long-standing issue. The England international commented that he was ‘ready for his body to be free again.’
Bellingham dislocated his shoulder back in November of 2023 at the Santiago Bernabeu against Rayo Vallecano. His shoulder was popped back into its socket, and Bellingham played on, but thereafter he and the club decided to follow a conservative course of treatment, hoping it would heal through rest.
On he played, with heavy strapping, and eventually a shoulder brace, pushing through to lead Los Blancos to a Liga and Champions League double, and England to the Euro 2024 final. This season it has remained an inconvenience.
After Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Pachuca in the Club World Cup, in which he scored the opening goal, Bellingham spoke to the press, and was asked about his shoulder injury.
“It’s alright. I’ve got to the point now where the pain isn’t so bad, I’m more fed up with it, and having to wear the brace. Having to tug on it, and having players tug on it. It’s tiresome obviously in the heat, with all the extra weight you lose through sweat. But yeah I’m ready to sort it out, the surgery, obviously a few days after the final, I’ll go in there and have surgery,” he told Managing Madrid.
Jude Bellingham clarifies to @kiyanso how his shoulder is doing, how it affects his play, and the date of his surgery.
— Managing Madrid (@managingmadrid) June 22, 2025
“I think I’ve got to the end of my patience with the brace, the physios here and the doctors have been unbelievable, getting me ready to play game in, game out. But I’m at that point now where I’m ready to have a free shoulder, and a free body really.”
It will be a setback for Xabi Alonso’s early months in charge of Real Madrid next season. According to Cadena SER, Bellingham will be out until at least October, and likely the middle of it. That would see Bellingham miss the opening two months of the Liga season, and the opening games of the Champions League campaign. England manager Thomas Tuchel will also miss Bellingham for their World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
