Real Madrid kicked off their 24/25 La Liga season with an underwhelming performance against Mallorca, resulting in a 1-1 draw.
Unfortunately for the Los Blancos, the start to their campaign took another blow when it was confirmed that midfielder Jude Bellingham had suffered an injury in a training session that took place on Friday at Valdebebas
Bellingham sustained the injury during a ball exercise session, and had to leave the session early due to pain, prompting the club to take immediate medical action and conduct necessary tests. Ancelotti in a press conference later stated that he took a hit and that the club was evaluating it.
Test report results by Real Madrid revealed that the English midfielder had suffered a muscle injury on his right calf.
“Following tests carried out today on Jude Bellingham by Real Madrid’s medical team, the player has been diagnosed with an injury to the plantaris muscle in his right leg. His progress will be monitored.”, read the statement released by Real Madrid.
What makes this injury particularly interesting is that involves a muscle that is rarely mentioned in medical reports. The muscle is such that it can vary not just in terms of thickness and size, but also the muscle in some cases has two distinct parts separated by a tendon.
In the medical world there is still much debate about the true function of the plantar muscle. Some theories suggest that it does not have a significant role since its removal or absence does not affect the leg too much. This information confuses fans as to how Bellingham managed to injure an obscure muscle that almost has no significant role.
The plantaris muscle that Jude Bellingham has injured is reported to be absent in 7-20% of the world’s population, making his injury a rare one.
The plantaris muscle is a small, narrow, pencil shaped muscle that courses along the posterior aspect of the leg and is part of the calf. The muscle works with the Achilles tendon and ankle to flex the knee joint. This muscle that
This injury leaves both fans and Jude Bellingham frustrated, as he is definitely set to miss out on Real Madrid’s first home game against Real Valladolid.
The 21 year old also took to Instagram expressing his frustration on a post that read, “Nothing I hate more than missing games but trying to see the positive side and maybe my body is telling me it needs a bit more rest after a busy year. I’m very frustrated but I’ll be supporting the lads like a fan until I can rejoin them again in my best and strongest form.”
It is reported that Bellingham is expected to return only after the first international break, somewhere in the middle of September. This means he will also miss out on international duty and not be part of interim manager Lee Carsley’s England side who will kick off their Nations League campaign against Ireland on September 7th.
Fans will be hoping that Bellingham makes a full return as soon as possible to the already stacked Real Madrid squad.