Marco Asensio has ruptured his left knee ACL and meniscus and is expected to miss the entirety of the upcoming 2019-20 season.
They say grim news travel fast and unfortunately, this was the case for Spanish juggernaut Real Madrid.
The club has confirmed the severity of the injury after the pre-season match against Arsenal for the International Champions Cup, where the Spaniard was subbed off just 20 minutes after he entered the pitch.
It looks serious
Following the game, Zinedine Zidane was unable to hide his disappointment and concern:
"I hope it's not serious, but it looks like it," said Zidane.
"We are worried, he has gone to the hospital to take some tests, but it looks bad. We are saddened by all this."
Zidane then affirmed this injury does not affect Gareth Bale's continuity with Los Merengues: "These are two very different issues, which are not related," the Frenchman assured.
The club announced his promising youngster will undergo surgery in the next days and a long gruelling recovery will begin for the Spaniard, which will most likely make him miss six to nine months of action with Los Blancos.
A rising star untimely supernova?
This injury halts abruptly what would have been Asensio's fourth campaign with Real Madrid.
The previous one, the Spanish footballer was one of the most criticized players of the squad, due to his poor form and the overall disastrous season the team had.
He had inherited the spot in the starting XI left vacant by Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Juventus, mainly because of the great playing abilities he had shown during his two first seasons.
Asked about his below-par performances during the last season, the Balearic was adamant: "I'm not the one who has to lead the way in the club. There are other players who have been here longer than me, which have more experience. Those are the ones who have to lead the way."
Now Asensio's injury has put Zidane in a pickle in order to fill the right-wing attack, because of the imminent departures of Bale and Lucas Vazquez.