Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham confirmed on Sunday he will undergo surgery on a long-term shoulder issue after the Club World Cup ends.
The England international has been struggling with discomfort after dislocating it in a LaLiga match in November 2023, and playing with a brace under his shirt since then.
With Madrid keen on securing Club World Cup victory, they scheduled the operation for after the final, with Bellingham potentially missing the start of the LaLiga season as he recovers.
"I've got the point where... I'm fed up with the brace, and having to tug on it and having (other) players tug on it, and it rearranging all the time," Bellingham told DAZN after Real Madrid beat Pachuca 3-1 in Charlotte.
"I've got a surgery scheduled for after the tournament, I think we scheduled it a few days after the final obviously, so I'll go and do the surgery and get it fixed.
"I'm really happy about that, it's been a long time coming. I think I've come to the end of my patience with the brace.
"The physio here and the doctor here have been unbelievable helping me to be fine playing game in game out, (but) I'm at that point now where I'm ready to have a free shoulder and free body in terms of the brace."
Recovery from the surgery could take up to 12 weeks according to reports, so as well as Madrid's first league games, he may also miss England World Cup qualifiers in September against Andorra and Serbia.
Bellingham found the net in the win over Madrid's Mexican opponents, a day after his younger brother Jobe Bellingham struck for Borussia Dortmund.
The Madrid midfielder said he had been thinking about getting even ahead of the Pachuca game, which was new coach Xabi Alonso's first victory at the helm of Los Blancos.
"Everyone's been caning me yesterday, saying he's better than me. I had to do something today," he added.
"We're one-one now and we'll see for the rest of the tournament."