Lopez: Real Madrid can cope without Ronaldo

The Portuguese star has scored 25 goals in 18 games for the Spanish giants this term, almost half of their tally of 54 across all competitions.

But he is likely to miss Wednesday's UEFA Champions League clash with Galatasaray at the Bernabeu with a thigh injury, and is also a doubt for next weekend's Liga meeting with Real Valladolid.

Ronaldo was withdrawn 54 minutes into Saturday's trip to Almeria with the score at 1-0, his team-mates going on to score another four in his absence.

And Lopez believes this proves they will be fine without the influential attacker while he recovers.

"He knows his own body very well," the goalkeeper said. "He felt something and realised he should come off. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious and he’ll be back with us as soon as possible.

"He looked in good spirits to me. He’s so professional. He always wants to play, but a little break might also be good for him.

"It’s undeniable that he’s important. He’s a key player, but on Saturday he went off and we won handsomely. This team have got lots of good players, though we’ll miss him."