Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham received disappointing news after suffering an ankle injury against Girona on Saturday.
Real Madrid confirmed today that Bellingham will miss three weeks due to a high ankle sprain he suffered in the club's 4-0 LaLiga win. Bellingham was substituted off in the 57th minute, just moments after he scored his second goal of the match to put Real Madrid up 3-0.
A three-week absence means Bellingham will miss several matches, including the first leg of Real Madrid's UEFA Champions League round-of-16 matchup against RB Leipzig on Feb. 13. Real Madrid will travel to Leipzig for the first leg before returning to Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for the second leg on March 6. It is unknown if Bellingham will be out for the second leg as well considering it would fall just outside of the three-week injury timetable the club provided.
Bellingham suffered the injury about 50 minutes into Saturday's match against Girona, but he kept playing for several minutes despite being in noticeable pain and having a minor limp while walking. Even with the injury, he put away a rebound from Girona's goalkeeper in the 54th minute. He previously had scored in the first half to increase Real Madrid's advantage to two.
After signing a six-year contract with Real Madrid in June, Bellingham enjoyed a wonderful start in Madrid. He scored five goals in his first four LaLiga matches and ultimately had 17 goals and five assists in his first 20 games across all competitions with Real Madrid over the first four months of the season. However, before Saturday's two-goal performance, Bellingham had only scored one goal in his last eight matches.
Despite Bellingham's relative scoring dip, Real Madrid will certainly miss his presence. In addition to the Champions League meeting with RB Leipzig, Real Madrid is away at Rayo Vallecano and Valencia and home against Sevilla over the next three weeks.
Fortunately, with the dominant victory Saturday, Real Madrid now sits five points clear of second-place Girona in the LaLiga table.