On 24 January 2010, Bravo was sent off for the first time in a loss to Elche CF at Anoeta Stadium, fouling Óscar Trejo in the ninth minute, from which Jorge Molina scored a penalty for the only goal of the game. Three weeks later, he scored the first goal of his career, from a direct free kick against Nàstic, the game's only in a home triumph; however, shortly after, he suffered a severe knee injury during Real Sociedad's 0–2 loss at Córdoba CF, which rendered him unavailable for the remainder of the season. He still featured in 25 matches to help his team finish champions and return to the top division, after three years.
In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Bravo started in all four matches for Chile (remaining as captain), conceding five goals in an eventual 0–3 round-of-16 loss against Brazil. He was also selected by new manager Jorge Sampaoli to the squad of 23 for the following edition, starting all the games and conceding only four times – one by Australia, two by the Netherlands and one by Brazil – which again ended in the same stage and at the hands of the same opponent, but in a penalty shootout.