José Mourinho visited Raúl Asencio in hospital to support his player after the defender underwent surgery on his shin bone.
The Real Madrid coach has been strict with him in the past. This time he sent a message to the dressing room: the human factor comes first.
According to AS, fairness between his players is one of the particular principles by which Mourinho tries to run his work.
Even when a player draws more criticism than praise from him, the human factor must take priority.
His dealings with Asencio set the tone for the dressing room. Mourinho reprimanded him publicly over the latest off-pitch incident, yet praised the way he trains at Valdebebas, and yesterday he wanted to be by his side after the surgery.
At the hospital, he checked on how the operation had gone to treat a stress fracture in Asencio's right shin bone.
The visit was support in a sensitive sporting moment. The player knows a return in under three months looks difficult, though he will try to make the first Copa del Rey match on 16 December.
Since the summer, matters unrelated to his profession have put him in the spotlight more than his level on the pitch. He has not played a single minute this season.
On 3 September, Asencio returned to the judicial spotlight. The two victims forgave him in the case of the sexual video clip he had published, and the judge decided to acquit him.
Another case went differently. It emerged at the same time that he had committed a road safety offence last August, after proof that he had driven under the influence of alcohol.
Mourinho came down hard on his player at the press conference before the trip to La Cartuja. "Everyone makes mistakes, but when the mistakes accumulate... it becomes a different matter," he said. "A Real Madrid player is a club player 24 hours a day. What you do off the pitch can damage your reputation and the club's reputation. I am not happy."
Even so, in the name of fairness, he praised the work of his everyday centre-back. "Inside Valdebebas, he is a true professional," Mourinho said. "When he was fit, there was no one who trained more than him or better than him. And now, injured, he is the first to arrive and the last to leave. He has exceptional dedication."
All of that is now in the past. An operation is an ordeal for any footballer, and Mourinho stood by Asencio's side. It is one of those gestures the dressing room notices and takes to heart.