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It was almost a year ago when Jesé Rodríguez's career was put at risk due to a terrible injury. After having caused a tremendous impact with Real Madrid's first team between December and March, coinciding with absences of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, the young Canarian tore his ACL in the Champions League's second leg against Schalke 04. It was a terrible misfortune, since there was nothing at stake that day given that Los Blancos had achieved a five-goal advantage in Gelsenkirchen, and Real Madrid lost one of their greatest assets for the rest of the season.
The season finished with the conquering of the Copa del Rey and La Décima, and Real Madrid planned the next one counting on Jesé to be the main backup for each of the members of the BBC trio, and trusting that, once he were recovered, he would deliver as he had done in the previous one. We were all happy when we saw him coming back in great shape against UE Cornellà, back in December, but, since then, he has not been able to show the bright sparkle he had last season.
It is true that he has not had too much game time to show his potential, as he has not been picked as a starter even once, but that did not seem a problem for him last season when he was able to turn games upside down in just a few minutes, like he did in Mestalla. It must be really frustrating to be subbed into a game less than a minute before the final whistle, but a youngster who wants minutes must show a better attitude than Jesé in Elche and, for sure, mistakes like the one he made against Villarreal, when he missed a shot in front of an empty goal, will not help his cause at all.
Just like the rest of us, Jesé must know that Ancelotti is no friend of rotations, and he will need to improve and get the best out of the few opportunities he will likely get before the season ends if he wants to make a career in Real Madrid. Ødegaard and Asensio will be tough competitors for his spot upfront, and their recent performances seem to indicate that they are ready to take the lead.