Jude Bellingham’s availability for Saturday’s La Liga match against Granada has been confirmed by Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti, allaying worries about his fitness.
Throughout the 2023–24 season, the England international has been in excellent form for Los Blancos, scoring 15 goals in 16 games while also dishing out four assists.
According to Sports Mole, Bellingham missed England’s games during the November international break in addition to his recent Real Madrid absence due to a shoulder ailment.
After recovering from his shoulder injury, the 20-year-old has scored in his last two games against Cadiz and Napoli. However, he became doubtful for the match against Granada after it was revealed that he was unable to finish Friday’s Real Madrid practice.
Even though Bellingham was experiencing “some discomfort in his ankle” during his press conference, Ancelotti insisted that the young player would be ready for Saturday’s game.
“Bellingham is fit to play tomorrow. He will be fine and he will play the game. It’s just that he’s had some discomfort in his ankle,” stated the manager on Friday.
Ancelotti also talked candidly about the midfielder’s play this year, acknowledging that his goal-scoring prowess for the team since joining has taken some by surprise.
“Bellingham is very respected in the team not only for the goals he scores but for the work he does. We have never asked Bellingham to score goals. He has to continue like that and there will come a time when he won’t score goals,” added the Italian.
“Bellingham’s adaptation to the dressing room has been very good. Entering the dressing room is quite easy because the ego level of this squad is very low and for the new players it’s much easier.
“I didn’t see [Alfredo] Di Stefano play. I’ve seen [Johan] Cruyff and [Zinedine] Zidane play and I think I was as surprised with Bellingham as I was when I first saw Kaka. He has a lot of Kaka in him.”
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Kepa Arrizabalaga, the Chelsea goalkeeper on loan, is back to full strength after a thigh problem, according to Ancelotti. However, Andriy Lunin will start in goal against Granada.
“Kepa is available. He trained today and for the first time, he has been medically cleared. We will continue with Lunin, so Kepa will have a week to prepare for the match against [Real] Betis,” said the manager.
“The objective this weekend is to continue to show quality and efficiency in the game. The key to this run of form has been the team’s collective effort.”
Real Madrid, who now sit atop the La Liga standings with a point differential from second-place Girona, will be looking to win five straight games across all competitions on Saturday night.
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