Marco Asensio is likely to miss the entire 2019/20 season after picking up a serious knee injury in Real Madrid's pre-season game against Arsenal.

The Spaniard collapsed to the turf towards the end of the 2-2 draw and had to be stretchered off in tears.

Zinedine Zidane could barely look on the touchline, with Real's worst fears realised as it was confirmed that Asensio has torn his ACL and damaged his meniscus.

The 23-year-old will miss a minimum of nine months of action in what is a devastating blow to both player and club.

As we reported a week or so ago, Asensio had been seriously impressing in Real Madrid's pre-season fitness tests.

The upcoming season was all set to be a big one for a player who struggled in 2018/19.

What makes the whole situation even more heartbreaking is that Asensio deliberately missed Spain's U21 Euro's triumph in order to prove himself to the Real Madrid coaching staff.

La Roja beat Germany 2-1 in the final to win the trophy after finishing as runner-up back in 2017.

At that tournament, Asensio was selected and he was one of the stars of the show, scoring a memorable hat-trick against Macedonia in a 5-0 win for Spain.

Two years later, his career has somewhat stalled at the Bernabeu, he's missed out on lifting an international trophy and he's picked up a very serious injury.

Football really can be the cruelest game at times.

Let's all hope Asensio makes a speedy recovery and returns to his fearsome best when he steps out on the pitch once again.