The mistake Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham wishes he could take back

Jude Bellingham arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2023. The England international was the marquee signing of that transfer window and from his very first game, he justified exactly why the club had brought him in. He became the team’s leading scorer and the hottest name in Madrid. Then, in November of that year, against Rayo Vallecano, he went down and suffered a dislocated shoulder that kept him from performing at his highest level.

The player has now opened up about that ordeal: “It all started on the day of the game against Rayo. It was the most painful thing I had gone through up to that point. It felt like forever before they got it back in place, and it was actually 90 seconds from when they came onto the field to when they put it back. Before that, I had managed to pop it back in myself a few times when it came out.”

The English midfielder says he had already been advised to have surgery while at Borussia Dortmund: “In my last season at Dortmund, early on, they already told me I had to have shoulder surgery after a bad fall. I knew something wasn’t right, but it was August-September and the World Cup was in December, so I didn’t have the operation. Then I started to feel better. When I arrived in Madrid, I wasn’t in pain.”

He also admitted the mistake of putting off the operation: “Everyone told me I needed surgery, but it was my first year at Real Madrid and I didn’t want to let the team down and be out for three months. The shoulder injury had a big effect on the rest of my body. I wasn’t in a lot of pain, but playing knowing that if I fell, it could pop out again meant I couldn’t perform at my best.”

“After losing the European Championship final to Spain, I didn’t want that to be my last feeling for three months, but that would have been the best time to have the surgery. I decided to keep going for another year, and I shouldn’t have done that.”

After acknowledging his mistake, he says he can now return to 100%: “Last year made me realize I couldn’t take winning again for granted. Now I’m physically better and I can get back to my level.”

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