Raul Asencio: Real Madrid defender set to miss four months after surgery

Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio is expected to be out for around four months after undergoing successful surgery on a stress fracture in the tibia of his right leg.

The 23-year-old centre-back had been managing the problem since January, but a further bout of pain in the affected area this week prompted the decision to operate.

The procedure was carried out at the Olympia Center in Madrid by Spanish traumatologist Dr Manuel Leyes and supervised by Real Madrid’s medical staff.

In a statement, the club said: “Our player Raul Asencio has been successfully operated on today by Dr Manuel Leyes for a stress fracture in the right tibia. The operation has been supervised by Real Madrid’s Medical Services. Asencio will begin his recovery process in the next few days.”

The injury is another setback for Asencio, who has not played in an official match for Real Madrid this season.

He first suffered a muscle injury to the rectus femoris in his right leg on 30 July. Asencio returned to the squad for the match against Rayo Vallecano on 12 September and was an unused substitute in Real Madrid’s next three games.

The possibility of surgery had also been discussed towards the end of last season, when the club and the player considered whether the summer would be the right time for him to recover from the injury.

Asencio now faces a lengthy rehabilitation before he can return to first-team football. His coach, Jose Mourinho, visited him after the operation.