Raul Asencio, Real Madrid player
Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images
Raul Asencio had only just put one injury behind him and now, another problem from last season has returned to threaten the start of his new campaign.
According to MARCA, the Real Madrid centre-back has recovered from the quadriceps injury that kept him out earlier this season, but the shin issue he had been carrying since last season has flared up again.
Asencio, whose future at Real Madrid is uncertain, is already undergoing treatment at Valdebebas in what could be his final attempt to avoid surgery.
The plan is to reduce the tension around the affected area and allow the injury to heal properly. However, there is little room for error.
This means if the treatment does not produce the expected improvement, the defender will need an operation that could keep him out for between six and eight weeks.
The injury Asencio refused to let stop him
The shin issue first became a serious problem during the closing months of last season, when Real Madrid were already dealing with a shortage of available centre-backs.
Raul Asencio of Real Madrid
Asencio is facing a threat of surgery. (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)
Asencio could have stopped and focused entirely on his recovery. Instead, he chose to continue.
The defender had become an important option at a difficult time for the team and was unwilling to step away while the squad needed bodies in defence.
Unfortunately, the problem had not healed as cleanly as expected. Asencio continued competing, while the medical staff attempted to find a solution that would allow him to keep playing without immediately sending him for surgery.
He underwent a minimally invasive procedure to treat the affected area of the tibia, where scar tissue and a poorly healed callus had developed.
The concern was that the condition could weaken the bone and potentially turn an existing fissure into something much more serious.
The treatment bought Asencio time. He was able to keep helping Real Madrid when they needed him most, but that decision has now come back into the picture.
Real Madrid give Asencio one last chance to avoid surgery
Raul Asencio of Real Madrid
Asencio’s shin issue has returned. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
The latest setback comes just as Asencio had recovered from his quadriceps problem.
Rather than dealing with a completely separate injury, however, the defender is now struggling with the shin that troubled him throughout last season.
He has already started a new course of treatment at Valdebebas, with several sessions completed.
For now, the objective is to ease the pressure and tension in the affected area and allow the injury to settle without taking the more drastic route.
As a result, surgery remains an alternative rather than the immediate plan, but if this latest treatment fails, there will be little choice left.
Asencio would undergo surgery and face an expected absence of six to eight weeks, potentially taking him out for close to two months.
Report: The deep-rooted problem Mourinho must solve around Real Madrid superstar’s situation
Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid
Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images
The hostility against Vinicius Jr. appears to be at an all-time high, for the Real Madrid superstar can seemingly not enter a single stadium without facing the wrath of fans.
Needless to say, the situation around the winger is simply not normal. In the past few weeks, Vinicius has faced boos from the crowd at pre-season venues he has never played at, as well as in the team’s very first game of the new season.
At this point, the pattern has become so repetitive that it has been normalised, and it does not bode well for the player.
As reported by AS, Jose Mourinho’s success at Real Madrid is no longer dependent on solving superficially rooted problems like improving the synchrony between Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe or making the Brazilian work defensively.
Jose MOurinho, Real Madrid manager
Mourinho is solving the wrong problem. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
Instead, his primary focus must be on the deep-rooted problem that is now growing increasingly clear – the psychological aspect.
The manager must strive to protect the player against all forms of hostility against him, and more importantly, stop every game from being a war against him.
After all, playing amidst such turbulence and psychologically challenging conditions week in and week out undoubtedly takes its toll, more so in a world that seemingly does not understand Vinicius.
A question of the player’s mental health
Football has always been a sport where fans have actively participated in encouraging the team in highs and criticising them in lows. In that sense, a player being booed is not necessarily harsh.
Vinicius Jr., Real Madrid superstar
How much torture is too much? (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Vinicius’ situation, however, is clearly growing out of control and questions have to be asked about where the line must be drawn.
At this point, the player is clearly being kept from his best version simply by the ruthless atmosphere that surrounds him, and it is difficult to perform when placed under a magnifying glass in every clash.
Beyond the sporting aspect, in fact, the question is now one for the player’s mental health, and it is shameful how matters have escalated to this point without any intervention.