Injury puts Bellingham out for several weeks
Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham will be out for several weeks after he suffered a calf injury in training.
The Real Madrid star will definitely miss the next three Los Blancos matches, and England's games against Republic of Ireland and Finland in the UEFA Nations League.
In a statement, Madrid confirmed Bellingham was suffering with a calf issue.
Bellingham missed 13 games in all competitions for Madrid last season, but it did not lose a single one, winning 11 and drawing twice, while its goals per game also lifted from 2.2 to 2.7.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who usually talks to the media one day before each game, decided to change the schedule so he could hold his final training session behind closed doors at Santiago Bernabeu, where Los Blancos will host Real Valladolid on Monday (AEST).
But this unusual move had nothing to do with Madrid's display in a 1-1 draw at Real Mallorca last weekend.
"It's nothing special, I'm doing it just to test the pitch, because it has changed compared to last year," the Italian, who was unhappy with the effort his side showed against Mallorca, said.
"I want the players to try the new pitch to see how they feel there. There is nothing superstitious or anything else behind it."
Ancelotti insisted, however, that he needs to see a better performance in order for him to deploy an attacking quarter of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Bellingham ahead of only two conventional midfielders.
"It was a pretty clear game to evaluate, we lacked balance, it's not very complicated. There is a clear solution," Ancelotti said.
"With such an attacking team, the forwards have to work a bit harder. We have tried to fix it with a lot of work this week."
Ancelotti expects a warm welcome by Madrid's fans for Mbappe's home debut.
"It's going to be a beautiful day for Mbappe, playing for the first time at the Bernabeu wearing Real's jersey.
"The fans are going to enjoy it a lot, I'm sure of that," Ancelotti said.
