‘Humbled’—Jude Bellingham Makes Real Madrid Admission After Injury Return

Jude Bellingham followed up his first appearance of the 2025–26 season with a heartfelt message on social media, thanking Madridistas for their continued support.

The England international made his long-awaited return in Real Madrid’s 2–0 victory over Espanyol on Saturday afternoon, coming on in the 89th minute to a rousing ovation from the sea of white shirts at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Despite only playing one minute plus stoppage time, Bellingham looked sharp in his brief cameo. The midfielder took 10 touches and completed six passes, including one pinpoint through ball that nearly created a goalscoring opportunity for Real Madrid.

Bellingham will have to wait a bit longer for his first goal contribution of the season, but the 22-year-old expressed his delight to finally be back in a white shirt following the victory.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jude Bellingham (@judebellingham)

“Missed this and all of you so much,” Bellingham wrote on Instagram. “Truly humbled by the love you gave me in the stadium today and the support from everyone throughout my recovery, it means the world to me.

“Now for more. Hala Madrid!” he finished.

Bellingham had been sidelined since the end of this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup. The former Borussia Dortmund standout finally went under the knife to repair a dislocated shoulder he'd been playing with since his debut season at Real Madrid.

The shoulder surgery was originally expected to keep Bellingham out of commission until October at the earliest, but the Englishman recovered ahead of schedule and made Xabi Alonso’s squad for Los Blancos’ Champions League opener.

The manager did not risk bringing on Bellingham or Eduardo Camavinga against Marseille after his side went down to 10 men, but he gave both players their season debuts four days later.

Bellingham and Camavinga’s returns are a big boost for Real Madrid ahead of next weekend’s highly anticipated Madrid derby.