When will Jude Bellingham return for Real Madrid? Fresh reports emerge on English midfielder's ankle injury

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham could return to action soon following recovery from his ankle injury.

Bellingham suffered the injury during Los Blancos' 4-0 win over title rivals Girona at the Santiago Bernabeu on February 10. He scored two goals in the game but was subbed off in the 57th minute and has been out of action since.

In Bellingham's absence, Carlo Ancelotti's side have played two games, remaining unbeaten. They beat RB Leipzig 1-0 away in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg before playing out a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.

As per Marca (via Metro), Bellingham is set to return to first-team training next week. He will miss Real Madrid's home clash against Sevilla on Sunday (February 25). However, Los Blancos hope he could return for the game against Valencia at Mestalla on March 2.

Bellingham has been excellent for the Spanish giants in his debut season since arriving from Borussia Dortmund for a reported €103 million last summer. He has scored 20 goals and provided eight assists in 29 games across competitions.

He has helped Real Madrid to the top of the La Liga table, six points above Girona, after 25 games. They have won the Supercopa de Espana and are also in good stead to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

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Real Madrid considered making a move for Liverpool star before signing Jude Bellingham: Reports

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has reported that Los Blancos were considering making a move for Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez last summer.

Real Madrid parted ways with legendary striker Karim Benzema as a free agent last summer. As per Romano, they were considering replacing the Frenchman with Nunez, as he said (via The Real Champs):

“I can tell you that last summer in June, before completing the deal for Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid considered a possible move for Darwin Nunez."

Nunez joined Liverpool in the summer of 2022 from Benfica for a reported fee of €100 million. He scored 15 goals and provided four assists in 42 games across competitions for the Reds in the 2022-23 season.

Los Blancos, however, eventually decided against signing him and brought in Jude Bellingham instead. In the striker department though, they signed Joselu on a season-long loan from Espanyol.

The Spaniard has scored 13 goals and provided four assists in 1559 minutes of action across 35 appearances this season. Meanwhile, Nunez has registered 13 goals and 11 assists for Liverpool in 2147 minutes of action across 37 appearances.