Bukayo Saka reacts as Jude Bellingham posts surgery update
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka is among those to have reacted to Jude Bellingham’s update following shoulder surgery.
The England star has established himself as one of the world’s best players since joining Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in 2023.
Playing across midfield and forward positions, Bellingham has so far registered 38 goals and 28 assists in 100 appearances across all competitions for Los Blancos, helping them win five trophies so far — including the Uefa Champions League.
Bellingham has also scored five of his six England goals since becoming a Madrid player, including two vital strikes in the Three Lions’ run to the Euro 2024 final.
Jude Bellingham posts shoulder surgery update
Those exploits have come at a cost to Bellingham, who recently had to undergo surgery to repair a longstanding shoulder problem.
According to BBC Sport (16 July), the 22-year-old has been struggling with the injury since dislocating his shoulder against Rayo Vallecano in 2023 and will now miss the whole of Madrid’s pre-season programme and the first six weeks of the upcoming campaign.
| Real Madrid stats | Jude Bellingham |
| Appearances | 100 |
| Goals | 38 |
| Assists | 28 |
| Trophies | 5 |
Bellingham posted an image of himself in a hospital bed on Friday (18 July) following the procedure, giving fans an update on his condition.
“Thank you to Andrew Wallace & Susan Alexander, their team and everyone at Fortius Clinic for the surgery and hospitality,” the caption read.
“”To Ivan Ortega and Dr Leyes for travelling to support. And finally, to everyone else for all the well wishes and messages of love. The process to come back has already started, see you soon.”
Bellingham’s update garnered widespread attention, earning likes from Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri, England teammate Noni Madueke — who is also about to join the Gunners — and Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala, who is also recovering from a major injury sustained at the Club World Cup.
Real Madrid tipped to make Cristian Romero move
Xabi Alonso must now figure out how he’s going to cope without Bellingham as they begin the task of overhauling Barcelona in La Liga and chasing their 16th Champions League crown.
But the Spanish giants may also be making moves further back, with Tottenham’s Cristian Romero a long-time target.
Former England defender and coach Stuart Pearce has backed Los Blancos to sign the Argentine, comparing him to current defensive stalwart Antonio Rudiger.
“I don’t see that interest as a surprise. They took Antonio Rudiger, and Rudiger has a similar outlook on defending, which is old school,” Pearce said.
“I think if you ask strikers who they don’t want to play against, they’d probably throw his name into the mix
“That’s because of what he does and how he defends, so I can see Cristian Romero to Real Madrid being a decent move.”