The defender took to the pitch alongside his teammates right from the start of the session, having fully recovered from a muscle injury to the rectus femoris of his right leg sustained during pre-season, which had kept him sidelined since late July.

Raul Asencio's return comes a week after he was acquitted of the crime of revealing secrets in the case concerning the recording and dissemination of a sexual video in 2023, alongside other former Real Madrid youth players, following a pardon granted to the footballers by the two victims.

Additionally, on 2 September, a sentence for drink-driving was handed down in Gran Canaria regarding an incident on 16 August. The centre-back admitted the facts in a summary trial, receiving a €14,400 fine and an eight-month driving ban.

The team trained behind closed doors at Real Madrid City on Thursday morning, getting underway at 10:30 CEST following a day off on Wednesday in the wake of their 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in their Champions League opener.

Also present at the session were Aurelien Tchouameni, Endrick, and Thiago Pitarch, who had already rejoined the group last Sunday and made the squad for the European fixture after completing two routine training sessions.

However, only the Frenchman played ten minutes in that match, coming on for Trent — who was deployed in central midfield due to circumstances — after Jose Mourinho admitted in his pre-match press conference that the returning trio lacked the match rhythm required to start.

The morning workout also featured the three players who were suspended for the clash against Inter: Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Guler, and Bernardo Silva, who served disciplinary bans carried over from last season in Europe's premier club competition.

This opens up a far wider range of options in midfield for a Real Madrid squad that only had Valverde and Bellingham as natural first-team central midfielders against Inter. Jose Mourinho remains without the injured trio of Rodrygo Goes, Ferland Mendy, and Eder Militao, who are continuing their respective recovery programmes.

Raúl Asencio

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