Jude Bellingham has been spotted wearing shoulder pads during England's Euro 2024 matches.
The round of 16 of the 2024 European Championships finish on Tuesday night, as Romania face The Netherlands and Austria play Turkey in the final matches of the first knockout stage.
England survived an early scare in their knockout match with Slovakia, as Jude Bellingham scored an injury time equaliser, allowing Harry Kane to seal England’s 2-1 victory in extra time.
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Bellingham has been a key part of England’s success so far this tournament and some fans have noticed something unusual about the England star.
The 21-year-old appears to be wearing shoulder pads when he is playing, but what are they?
Footytruths detailed that the high-quality shoulder padding, which comes from the American National Football League (NFL), has been worn by Bellingham throughout the Euros campaign.
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In training, his teammates have also been told not to touch Bellingham’s shoulder as an extra precaution.
These safety measures have been put in place to prevent Bellingham from having to receive surgery on his left shoulder, which was dislocated during Real Madrid’s 0-0 draw with Rayo Vallecano in November.
While surgery after the Euros may still be necessary, losing Bellingham mid-tournament would be a major blow for England, after the midfielder has scored half of the team’s goals.
However, Real Madrid will likely not be happy with Bellingham’s decision to delay surgery, as it could impact his availability at the start of the La Liga season which gets underway in mid-August.
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Madrid are already likely to be without star signing Kylian Mbappe for the start of the domestic season and so losing their other key player could cause problems for the Spanish champions.
Mbappe will also be undergoing surgery following the end of the European Championships, after the striker broke his nose in France’s opening fixture against Austria.
England will face Switzerland in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf on Saturday at 5pm BST.
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Meanwhile France will play Portugal at the Volkparkstadion, Hamburg with the winners set to face one of Spain or Germany in the semi-finals.
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Topics: Euro 2024, England, Jude Bellingham, Football, Injury, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid
Ben McCrum