La Liga giants Real Madrid have on Wednesday confirmed that defensive star Raúl Asencio is set to be forced under the knife. This comes in an effort to finally deal with a long-term problem in the tibia in his right leg.

Defender Asencio is for his part yet to take to the pitch in the colours of Real Madrid this term, after suffering a fitness setback during pre-season.

The Spaniard had in turn spent the last couple of weeks ramping up his recovery efforts, afforded a place on the bench for Los Blancos’ most recent fixtures.

Just when it appeared as though he was closing on a season debut, however, Asencio has this week been hit with a major setback. As per a statement across Real’s website and social media platforms on Wednesday:

‘Our player Raúl Asencio will undergo surgery tomorrow due to a stress fracture in the tibia of his right leg.’

As per an ensuing report from Marca, the 23-year-old ‘will face a long recovery process, which will keep him sidelined for between two and four months’.