Carlo Ancelotti confirms Jude Bellingham injury status ahead of U.S. tour
- Jude Bellingham has joined Real Madrid in a €134m transfer
- England star had been nursing a knee injury last season and into summer
- Reported to pre-season training with new teammates last week
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is pleased with the way Jude Bellingham is settling at the club following a transfer from Borussia Dortmund that could eventually reach €134m.
Bellingham signed a six-year contract with Real in mid-June and was assigned the number five shirt famously worn by midfield icon Zinedine Zidane during his playing spell at the Bernabeu.
The England international was still on his summer break at the time but has since returned to Madrid to begin training with his new teammates in pre-season.
Real will play their first friendly of the summer against AC Milan on 23 July in Los Angeles, which is when Bellingham could make his unofficial debut. Further U.S. friendlies will then follow against Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus until 1 August.
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"He's adjusting well," Ancelotti remarked a pre-season press conference.
"He is a very young player and different from other midfielders we have. We are very happy that he is with us and he raises the level of Real Madrid.
"He works hard, he's fine and he'll play on this tour. He had a little problem during the holidays, he came with a little knee problem. But now he is fine."
That 'little problem' was a knee injury that forced Bellingham to wear knee strapping towards the end of last season and withdraw from international duty in June. Concerns that someone so young is already having to take such measures have been allayed by the player.
"I'm ready to play and my knee is perfectly fine," he insisted last week.
Having only turned 20 as recently as the end of June, Bellingham has already played a staggering 200 senior games for club and country so far in his career.
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