Cristiano Ronaldo Ban Gives Jese Chance to Kick-Start His Season at Real Madrid

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has never been shy to heap praise on Jese, the club's precocious and largely homegrown forward.

"Jese is an insane talent," the Italian told Corriere dello Sport (h/t Inside Spanish Football) last February, after the then-20-year-old had enjoyed a blazing run through Spain in the early months of 2014.

Ancelotti has always been comfortable lauding his players, and he's often done so in regard to Jese without hesitation. 

It wasn't a surprise, therefore, to hear the Real Madrid boss discuss the Las Palmas-born star in his first press conference of the new year ahead of Los Blancos' clash with Valencia.

While speaking of Jese's likely involvement at the Mestalla, the manager told those in attendance, per the club's official website: "We lacked a player like him at the end of last season"—intimating that the forward's absence through injury hampered Real's final push in La Liga in 2013-14. 

Paul White/Associated Press

It's an interesting point, given how the club's league campaign fizzled out last year despite triumphant runs in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. Would it have been different if the once-surging Jese hadn't been sidelined with a badly damaged knee? Could Real Madrid have pushed harder for a treble with the young Spaniard available?

We'll never know. 

What's important to note, however, is what gave the club's emerging star the necessary platform to sparkle.

A red card and subsequent three-game suspension for Cristiano Ronaldo.

In a neat case of symmetry, it's happened again. In similar circumstances. At an identical point in the season. 

Last February, it was the Ballon d'Or winner's incident at Athletic Bilbao that presented Jese his chance. He took it. 

Now, 12 months on, Ronaldo's red card against Cordoba—which will see the Portugal international banned for two matches, as reported by AS—has afforded Jese the very same opportunity.

Will he seize it this time, too? 

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For Real Madrid, it's important that he does. After a blistering 22-game winning streak, the European champions have seen their form tail off somewhat in January. Indeed, losses to Valencia and Atletico Madrid have reinforced Ancelotti's belief that this team is a "diesel," per Reuters—a group that accelerates quickly but can be a little laboured when getting off the line after a break. 

Compounding that has been a taxing schedule across six competitions in the current campaign that has had an affect on Los Blancos, who have the highest average minutes per player (2,397) of any side in Europe, according to Sky Sports. 

As such, there's a feeling of fatigue creeping into the Bernabeu, and squad rotation has quickly become necessary.

To hit top gear again, vitality and exuberance are needed. Particularly during the two-week absence of Ronaldo. 

Jese, working back toward full fitness, is primed to provide exactly that.    

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

This year, though, the 21-year-old faces a different challenge. Bursting to prominence from relative obscurity is one thing; recapturing that brilliance while regaining trust in a surgically repaired knee is quite another. 

It's been evident in Jese's brief substitute appearances since his return this season that the recovery process is far from complete. His turns aren't as sharp, his ball control has been a little off and his pace looks fractionally down. 

Those qualities will return, but they'll take time. Playing time. Ninety minutes of it, not 20 or 30. 

Thanks to another suspension for Ronaldo, he could see 90 minutes in consecutive league games—an occurrence that seemed unlikely under normal circumstances. 

Miguel Morenatti/Associated Press

However, this isn't just a good break for the player—the opportunity represents an important juncture in the season for Ancelotti, too.

When he said prior to the clash with Valencia that Real Madrid "lacked a player like him [Jese] at the end of last season," it didn't just feel relevant to the 2013-14 campaign. It also felt pertinent to the club's current situation.

The truth is, Los Blancos still lack "a player like him" now—the Jese of January 2015 isn't the same as the Jese of February 2014.

This, right now, is Ancelotti's chance to accelerate the forward's path back to that level. Ronaldo's absence affords him the opportunity to kick-start Jese's season. 

If he can, it might just give Real Madrid the late-season impetus in La Liga that Ancelotti felt was missing last year.  

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