It has been the tale of two games.

A week ago in the UEFA Super Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo, donning his knightly white long-sleeved Madrid jersey, put on a star performance that has become his trademark. He scored two terrific goals, including a wondrous strike on the second, and was excellent on and off the ball.

But a week later in the Spanish Super Cup, Ronaldo hobbled about looking like a man struggling with his body more than with the opponent. By halftime, his night, which had been woeful to be sure, ended in ignominy as he was replaced by James Rodriguez.

The storylines following both games could not be more different with regards to Ronaldo. A week ago, everyone was sure that the worst had passed. But now the injury concerns have been reignited and could continue to dominate the season.

And who could blame those worried about Ronaldo's fitness. He struggled at the end of 2013-14 with a knee injury. In the World Cup, he was virtually non-existent as Portugal flopped in the opening round. Many felt that Ronaldo deserved to rest his knee instead of playing in the World Cup and there were concerns that he may have further aggravated his knee by playing in the competition. His absence from most preseason matches seemed to emphasize this problem, but his fitness in the last two matches (in which he scored three goals overall) silenced those critics.

Now the problem is back and possible in full force.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti stated that Ronaldo was fine and that there were no concerns over his fitness. But he also stated that during preseason. And now look what has happened. Ronaldo substituted at halftime of a competitive and meaningful game is virtually unheard of.

So now what does Real Madrid do if this is going to be the norm?

Obviously Gareth Bale is expected to take that load and carry the team as its top offensive star. But removing Ronaldo from the equation leaves a gaping hole in the team's offense that has been filled since his arrival in 2009. Ronaldo is good for close to 50 goals a year in all competitions. Bale's first season featured just 21 overall. In his first year for Real Madrid, Ronaldo scored 33 goals in 35 matches.

Not having Ronaldo would then require more of a scoring by committee approach, which could be a huge issue.

James Rodriguez was decent as a substitute, but the 23-year-old Colombian gave away the ball too easily and often looked uncomfortable for his new club. He is not on the same level as Ronaldo and will take some time to grow comfortable with the structure. He is solid with the ball and certainly has a goal-scoring instinct, but he is nowhere near as fast as Ronaldo to cover that left flank. Rodriguez scored six goals in the World Cup, but he has never scored more than 14 goals in a season.

A prolonged injury to Ronaldo should halt any desires to sell Angel Di Maria. The Argentine can play on the flank and has a lot more familiarity with Madrid's offensive setup. Moreover, Di Maria is a better player than Rodriguez at the moment and offers more to the club on both sides of the ball. But Di Maria has never scored more than 11 goals in a year. Like Rodriguez, he excels as a playmaker.

Karim Benzema is the team's other top attacker and has enjoyed two 30-goal seasons in his career. But he has also struggled with his goal scoring consistency, making it difficult to really on him to replace Ronaldo's output. Moreover, the team has no established striker behind Benzema to provide additional goals.

Ancelotti might be forced to make a move for a striker or simply hope that Bale turns into a 40-goal scorer and that Rodriguez replicates his World Cup goal-scoring rate. More unexpected things have happened, but that is a tall order for both players and relying too heavily on those results could be the team's downfall.

The defense has not been particularly great in the early going, so the team will rely on a lot of goals to get by. Without Ronaldo, they may not have enough of them.

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