Raúl Asencio will undergo surgery on his right tibia this Thursday after months of pain and unsuccessful conservative treatment. Real Madrid expects to lose the defender for nearly three months, but the club has not set a final recovery date.
At Valdebebas, Raúl Asencio met with Real Madrid's medical staff and coaching team to decide how to handle his right tibia injury. The club confirmed a stress fracture and agreed to surgery this Thursday. The defender has dealt with pain for months.
The operation ends his wait for a first official appearance this season. It also removes the academy defender from Mourinho's plans for nearly three months, although Real Madrid has not announced a firm recovery timeline. His recovery will start after the procedure.
Reports indicated that Asencio had returned to team training in the days before the operation was confirmed, but he still had not made an official appearance this season.
For Asencio, the choice was not simple.
He wanted to wait until Christmas and review the injury again at the end of the year. The club and the player eventually chose the longer-term solution. Conservative care had not removed the discomfort he had carried for months.
Spanish football media had already reported that surgery was under discussion in late summer and August. Asencio and the club first tried to avoid an operation. That plan failed.
The timing matters for Mourinho. Asencio has not played a single official minute this season. Éder Militão remains out, and Konaté has just suffered an injury while with France. Those absences could have opened a place for the Canary Islander, even without match involvement.
The club has confirmed the stress fracture and the operation, while the often-cited recovery estimate of two to three months comes from independent reports rather than from an official Real Madrid timetable. Some reports have suggested a longer absence, so the precise return should only become clearer after surgery and the subsequent medical assessment.
That chance is gone for now. His recovery will begin with the operation, not with another attempt to manage the problem. The medical announcement said all sides agreed to the intervention. Its purpose is to end the ongoing pain.
Reuters also reported the diagnosis and planned operation, citing the club's statement. The expected absence is close to three months, but the final timetable will depend on the recovery process.
The contrast with the Madrid housing case is limited but instructive. In both situations, the formal step became more important than the immediate preference. For Asencio, that step is surgery. The sporting cost is the loss of a defender for close to three months.
Asencio's chance to enter the official rotation has been replaced by a longer recovery plan. The failed conservative treatment and the stress-fracture diagnosis reported by the club shaped the decision. Mourinho loses a potential defensive option now. Real Madrid chose to address the source of the pain instead of extending a treatment plan that had not worked.
