Mario Rivas has spent the past year climbing through Real Madrid’s academy ladder a step at a time. The current injury list could skip him to the top of it.
Real Madrid confirmed on Thursday that Asencio had undergone surgery on a stress fracture in his right tibia, performed by Dr. Manuel Leyes and supervised by the club’s medical services. The club put his recovery at two to four months, meaning the 23-year-old is not expected to play again in 2026.
That leaves Mourinho’s central-defensive group almost bare. According to Football España, Rüdiger is “the only available centre-back” for the coaching staff: Dean Huijsen is suspended for the next match after his red card against Atlético de Madrid, Ibrahima Konaté is injured, and Éder Militão is still working his way back to full fitness.
The academy option Mourinho has turned to
Rivas is a 19-year-old central defender who impressed Mourinho during pre-season and has picked up several first-team call-ups in the early weeks of the new campaign, according to a Diario AS report cited by Get Football News Spain.
Read also: Without the Champions League it is ‘a bloodbath’: Carnevali lays Juventus’s finances bare
With Asencio out, Huijsen banned and Konaté and Militão unavailable, that step up is no longer a reward for form alone. Diario AS reports that Rivas could be called on to slot into the heart of Real Madrid’s defence as early as next week.
Villarreal first, Barcelona two weeks later
The timing is sharp. Real Madrid host Villarreal at the Bernabéu on Saturday, 10 October, with kick-off at 9pm local time. It is the final LaLiga outing before the first El Clásico of 2026-27, scheduled for Sunday, 25 October at Camp Nou, kick-off 9pm local time.
If Mourinho opts for youth, the Villarreal game is the more likely entry point: Huijsen is serving his ban for that fixture. Throwing a teenager into his first senior start at Camp Nou against Barcelona would be an unusually big ask, even for a manager who returned to the club in June on a three-year deal.
Rivas is now one injury away from the matchday squad. Huijsen could be available again for the Clásico, which would restore a two-man senior central pairing, but Madrid’s bench behind Rüdiger will carry little experience until Konaté and Militão are fit.
Read also: Cucurella backs Mourinho’s Real Madrid rebuild: ‘This is a process’
