The goal was the easy part. Nine minutes into José Mourinho’s first LaLiga match back at Real Madrid, Arda Güler swung in a free-kick and Jude Bellingham arrived to head it in, and for a while it looked like the simplest night of the season. It was the celebration an hour later that Madridistas kept rewinding. When Carlos Espí won the game late on, Bellingham did not look like a man who could jump.
He came off in the 80th minute. He was seen walking with a limp. And according to journalist Arancha Rodríguez, as relayed by Defensa Central and reported by Madrid Universal, he finished the evening with ice on his ankle and appeared to be in discomfort as he left the pitch. Real Madrid return to training this morning, and the Bellingham ankle question is the only thing anyone at Valdebebas will be watching.
What Real Madrid Actually Know About The Bellingham Ankle
Less than you would like, which is normal at this stage. Bernabéu Digital report that the squad were due back for a 10:00 CET session, and that the entire point of interest in it is Bellingham: whether he trains normally, in which case this was a fright and nothing more, or whether he is moved onto separate work, which would mean the discomfort has not settled.
There is no indication of a serious problem, and nobody has put a timeframe on anything. It is not even clear when the knock happened — Bellingham looked sharp early, timed his run beautifully for the opener, and gave no sign of trouble until the closing stages. That is the honest state of it: an England international with a sore ankle, a training session, and a manager waiting for the same answer as the rest of us.
The Timing Is The Problem
Real Madrid do not get a quiet week to find out. Bernabéu Digital note that Wednesday brings the rearranged opening-round fixture against Real Sociedad, which means the club have played one LaLiga game and are already three days from the next one.
Madrid Universal point out that the treatment room is not empty either: Aurélien Tchouaméni and Endrick are both managing muscle problems. Tchouaméni’s absence has already reshaped the midfield — he was short of full fitness for the opener — and Endrick missed the Espanyol game entirely, which is how a 21-year-old debutant came to win it. Losing Bellingham on top of that would take the shine off a summer’s planning very quickly.
Because this is not a squad player. Mourinho spent the pre-season resolving the one genuine puzzle in his team and settled on Bellingham as his No.10, with instructions to play close to the box. Nine minutes into the season, the plan produced a header. Bernabéu Digital’s reading is that despite a badly interrupted pre-season, Bellingham has already proved himself a key player for this manager, starting the first game available to him.
If He Cannot Play, Mourinho Already Has An Answer
The reassuring part is that the solution is on the pitch already. Defensa Central, via Madrid Universal, report that Mourinho sees Bellingham as the attacking midfielder but does not regard Güler as a substitute because of it — the Turkish playmaker can start on the right and drift into central areas depending on how the game develops. He did exactly that at Espanyol before being replaced on 64 minutes, and it is his free-kick that Bellingham headed in.
In other words, the man most likely to fill the gap has just made himself undroppable in a new role anyway. That is what a properly built squad looks like, and it is a better position than Los Blancos were in for most of last season.
None of which makes the wait any more comfortable. Bellingham has already lost chunks of this pre-season; what he needs now is a run of matches, not another spell of managing something. If he walks out at 10:00 and trains flat out, Wednesday at the Bernabéu looks after itself. If he does not, the first genuinely awkward selection call of Mourinho’s second spell arrives in under 72 hours.
