Real Madrid’s clash against Valencia in La Liga on Thursday night marked the return of Marco Asensio after a lengthy injury lay-off.
Asensio made sure to commemorate his return in style, scoring with a sensational strike within just 30 seconds of stepping on the pitch while also setting up Karim Benzema for his side’s second goal.
The Mallorca-born forward ruptured his cruciate ligament during the pre-season match against Arsenal and was expected to miss the entirety of the 2019/20 season.
It was the coronavirus enforced three-month hiatus that helped him recover in time to feature again this season. However, manager Zinedine Zidane still wants to take baby steps with integrating him back into his starting XI.
“I won’t say anything about the starting line-up,” Zidane stated during Saturday’s pre-match press conference, as reported by Marca.
“The other day he came on, but you have to take it one step at a time. We have time, we don’t have to think that he has to play every game.
“After a serious injury, you have to take it step by step, us and him, and calmly.”