Real Madrid News
Real Madrid defender faces surgery threat as old injury returns
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.
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
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.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid weighing up January move for €70 million-rated Arsenal midfielder – report
Real Madrid’s midfield is the one department where Jose Mourinho sees clear scope for improvement, especially given that the club did not sanction his wish for a top midfield signing in the summer.
While Bernardo Silva has chipped in as a handy option to feature in the deep midfield, the club still lacks a controlling and creative option who can glue the team together.
In that sense, there is a clear lacuna that Real Madrid need to address and Defensa Central brings to light that the club have opened up to a potential target.
Zubimendi emerges as a target
Indeed, the player in question is Arsenal’s Martin Zubimendi who the club have seen as a target for a long time, and Real Madrid could even go on to sign him in January.
The Spanish international has not started off the new season well under Mikel Arteta and has primarily featured as a substitute. He does, thus, see a move to Madrid with good eyes in every sense.
Real Madrid, for their part, have not ruled out his signing as was reported in recent months and there is even a chance they seriously pursue him in the winter transfer window as a mid-season fix.
The possible fee
The Spanish outlet also add that Zubimendi’s move to Real Madrid could be completed for a fee similar to what Arsenal paid for the player for his transfer from Real Sociedad – €70 million.
Mourinho’s insistence on making a new midfield signing is no secret, and with a clear target now in mind, the board could well back him with the player he wishes.
Notably, however, even Chelsea are seriously interested in his signing.
So far, Federico Valverde has been Real Madrid’s mainstay in midfield, and Aurelien Tchouameni’s return will change the team’s dynamics in the department.
Neither player, however, offers the control and distribution skill set that the team direly lack.
A big part of whether or not the club pushes for Zubimendi, however, will depend on how the Valverde-Tchouameni combination plays out in the coming months. It is, after all, the manager’s first-choice combination for big games.
