Fresh off his added time winner against FC Barcelona in the recent El Clasico, Real Madrid fans understandably would have been keen to see Jude Bellingham back in action this weekend. The Englishman has proven himself to be an absolute superstar since joining the club in the summer from Borussia Dortmund and is one of the contenders to win the next Ballon d'Or.
Unfortunately, Bellingham won't be playing this weekend. He has not been named in the squad that will take on Real Sociedad away at the Anoeta.
Not many would have seen this coming. And unsurprisingly, many have been left wondering whether Bellingham has picked up an injury. That would be bad news for Real Madrid. While La Liga is pretty much won already, the same cannot be said about the Champions League with important games coming up.
Fortunately, it does not seem to be an injury problem. As reported by AS, Bellingham has been left out of the squad due to gastroenteritis. This means that his recovery is likely to be short-term.
Why Bellingham has been dropped from Real Madrid squad
We can only wish Bellingham a speedy and complete recovery. Hopefully, he is back to 100 per cent as soon as possible.
Real Madrid should have enough in the tank to get past Real Sociedad even without Bellingham in the squad and get one step closer to the league title. Carlo Ancelotti's side have proven themselves to be masters of adapting to any situation time and again over the years.
That being said, Real Sociedad are a decent team for sure and quite capable of causing an upset on their day, especially in their own home ground. Thus, Real Madrid need to be careful. They do not want to drop points here and there, and make the title race any closer than it needs to be.