Why does Jude Bellingham wear a knee brace? Real Madrid superstar sparks fear he’s still suffering from England injury

Jude Bellingham will make his second appearance for Real Madrid in a glamour pre-season friendly against Manchester United this week.

The 20-year-old earned rave reviews from Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti after his first outing at the club in a 3-2 win over AC Milan.

4

4

Bellingham hadn’t played a single minute of football since Borussia Dortmund’s 5-2 win over Borussia Monchengladbach in May.

The midfielder was donning a knee brace for that game but was unable to feature in Dortmund’s last two matches of the campaign as they agonisingly missed out on the Bundesliga title.

Bellingham then had to pull out of England’s two Euro 2024 qualifiers with the same injury at the end of last season.

Why does Bellingham wear a knee brace?

Bellingham plays with heavy strapping around his left knee to play through the pain of bursitis.

Bursitis is a painful condition that causes swelling in a small, fluid-filled sac that cushions the spaces between tendons and bones.

It was feared that Bellingham may need to undergo knee surgery to fix the problem but he has so far avoided going under the knife.

The £115million man spent the latest England camp doing his own personal rehabilitation and was then integrated slowly with his new Madrid teammates after a spell of individual training.

4

4

He likely still wears padding around the knee to avoid any late relapse during the final stages of his recovery.

Bellingham himself has insisted that his fitness wouldn’t be an issue in him settling in at Madrid during an interview earlier this month.

“I’m feeling fine and I’m ready for the first training session,” he told Marca. “I’m ready to play and my knee is perfectly fine.”

Bellingham is next set to start in Madrid’s friendly with Man United in Texas as the anticipation for the new season continues to build.