Real Madrid plan ‘mini pre-season’ to help key player recover form before UCL final | OneFootball

Jude Bellingham’s decline in the second half of the ongoing season has been alarming and conspicuous.

After an explosive start to life in Spain, the youngster has considerably slowed down both in terms of numbers and his presence on the field, raising concerns over his situation at the club.

The Real Madrid administration, however, are not surprised over the development as they always saw it to be coming given the player’s zeal.

Jorge Picon (h/t RM4Arab) now reveals the club’s diagnosis of the situation and their plan of action.

What went wrong?

As revealed by the journalist, Bellingham is a player who simply refuses to rest or give up. The youngster wishes to take part in every minute the team plays, and his zeal for the same has led to him being overworked.

Having played too many games and physically far from his best, nothing has stopped Bellingham be it his knee pain, shoulder dislocation or the various muscle overloads he has in his body.

Not at his best of late. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP via Getty Images)

The report adds that the youngster even cuts a fatigued and dull figure in the dressing room owing to the workload. Yet, he refuses to sit out and insists that he plays every game.

A part of the blame, needless to say, falls on the management for throwing him into the deep end with a position he is not accustomed to on the field. Forced to adjust, Bellingham has often gone overboard with his effort on the field.

The plan ahead

The Real Madrid staff realise that Bellingham is in dire need of rejuvenation, both on a physical and mental front. Ancelotti and Co. have thus devised a new formula to bring him to his best in time for the UEFA Champions League final.

The plan forward, thus, is to create a ‘mini pre-season’ for Bellingham in terms of his minutes. He will be used just enough to stay in rhythm but rested sufficiently to give his body time to heal.

Special emphasis will be placed on the midfielder’s physiotherapy, nutrition, rest and fitness and his minutes for every game will be decided based on his sensations.

The only hurdle, however, is to convince the player to take a step back. The onus is thus now on Ancelotti to explain to Bellingham that reaching his best version for the UCL final, at this point in the season, is the best way forward.