Watch out Jude: only Bellingham left as Ballon d’Or curse strikes again

Of the three top players in the world, only Jude remains injury-free.

First up: Rodri. Then: Vinicius Jr. Next: Jude?

The world's top two players have both suffered injuries and have blamed the tough calendar on their physical problems, with the Real Madrid winger the latest name to publicly come out and take a sharp swipe at the fixture list.

Although it seemed that Vinicius Jr. suffered no problems in Madrid's ultimately comfortable win over CD Leganés in LaLiga, the club confirmed the morning after the match that the Brazilian would be out of action for at least three weeks – until around December 18 – with a hamstring injury.

Bellingham the last man standing

Vini Jr. used social media to blame the 'crazy calendar' for his injury, delivering exactly the same message that Rodri had done just weeks earlier, on the eve of his serious injury.

The Ballon d'Or holder suffered a cruciate ligament tear and meniscus damage in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal in September.

Real Madrid captain Daniel Carvajal is also out for the long term after suffering a triple fracture to his knee late in the LaLiga match against Villarreal. He finished 4th in the Ballon d'Or rankings and also publicly spoke out against the 'pointless' football calendar in August.

Of the top 10 in the final Ballon d'Or rankings, only one player has not been injured this season: Erling Haaland. Rodri, Vinicius Jr, Bellingham, Carvajal, Mbappe, Lautaro, Lamine Yamal and Kane (Kroos is retired) have all suffered injuries this season.