The hopes of the coaching staff at Real Madrid of having star midfielder Jude Bellingham back at their disposal for the upcoming round of La Liga fixtures were today dealt a blow.
This comes amid confirmation that the England international was once again absent from group training at Valdebebas.
Late on Tuesday, it was revealed in the media that Carlo Ancelotti was hopeful of Bellingham linking back up with the rest of his squad today.
As much of course comes with the 20-year-old having spent the last couple of weeks on the sidelines, owing to an ankle injury suffered against Girona.
Had Bellingham, as planned, taken his place in team training, the plan would then have been for him to be reintegrated into matchday duties against Valencia at the weekend.
Unfortunately for those of a Blancos persuasion desperate to see their top scorer back on the pitch, however, this did not prove the case.
As confirmed by a whole host of sources late on Wednesday, Bellingham has not yet reached a state of fitness deemed appropriate for contact training.
His participation at the Mestalla on Saturday is therefore beginning to look increasingly unlikely.
Conor Laird | GSFN
