Cristiano Ronaldo suspension: How much have Real Madrid missed him?

Cristiano Ronaldo will finally make his first La Liga appearance of the season on Wednesday, as he returns from his five-game suspension for pushing a referee. Real Madrid have missed him, writes Peter Smith...

Real's star man was sent off in the Spanish Super Cup first leg clash with Barcelona on August 13.
Aggrieved at being punished for taking his shirt off in celebration of his goal and then receiving a second yellow for simulation, Ronaldo - who had only come on as a second-half sub - shoved referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea.

Real boss Zinedine Zidane hit out at the length of the subsequent ban but it was a thoughtless action from the Portuguese - and his team-mates have dropped valuable points in La Liga without him.

Ronaldo played just seven minutes in his side's European Super Cup win over Manchester United and Real Madrid eased to a 2-0 second leg victory over Barcelona to lift the Spanish Super Cup 5-1 on aggregate, suggesting the club had the artillery in their ranks to cover the loss of their key man.
However, after an opening weekend 3-0 win at Deportivo La Coruna, back-to-back draws at home to Valencia and Levante, in which Real could have done with Ronaldo's supreme finishing ability, proved costly, prior to Sunday's win at Real Sociedad.
With Barcelona recovering from that Super Cup setback to record a 100 per cent record in the league, Real already find themselves four points adrift of their arch rivals.