Reeling Real Madrid Need Luka Modric Back in the Lineup ASAP

As the Real Madrid players drove to the club's Valdebebas training complex on Monday they passed a banner (held by disenchanted supporters) that read, "Your laughter, our shame," according to AS.

They were then welcomed by a very disturbed president Florentio Perez, who had arrived at the facility an hour earlier.

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Both parties—the fans and the administrational chief—were no doubt concerned with the manner of Madrid's 4-0 destruction at the hands of local rivals Atletico in Saturday's derby, and the photographs of numerous players celebrating Cristiano Ronaldo's 30th birthday into the early hours of Sunday surely rankled as well.

The timing, at least, could not have been worse.

But regarding the performance, had Los Blancos merely been outfoxed by a wily Atletico outfit that have become their bogey team this season? Or did manager Carlo Ancelotti's modest rotation strategy finally catch up with him and his players?

Were recent injuries to Pepe, Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez decisive? Or was the loss part of a bigger, more revealing trend at the club?

After all, Real Madrid have now won just four of their eight matches in 2015.

All above questions were posed by AS to some of Spanish football's most prestigious journalists on Monday, and one answer, in particular, seemed to locate the heart of the matter.

"On the one hand Cristiano's performances have dipped. I'm not sure if he's less motivated, too," remarked El Mundo's Orfeo Suarez. "On the other hand," he continued, "there's a lack of definition in the midfield with [Luka] Modric out injured."

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Like any superstar player in a bit of a slump, Ronaldo will work his way back to elite-level form. But there's no replacing the abilities of a midfield organiser such as Modric, who has been absent since sustaining a thigh injury while on international duty in November.

The good news is, the Croatian maestro is already training at Valdebebas and, according to an interview with Sportske Novosti, as relayed by Goal, is targeting a mid-February return to Ancelotti's lineup.

"When I was told I faced three months out I feared the worst as I remembered when I broke my leg in 2009," he said. "But in the end I looked on the bright side. If it had to happen it's better that it did during this period so I can return in time for the first round of [Champions League] matches  [and] with titles at stake."

He may be the only optimist in the Madrid camp at the moment, but he has every right to be. At the time of his injury, Los Blancos were flying high in both La Liga and Europe, and he and midfield partner Toni Kroos had helped orchestrate a Spanish-record winning streak that began, perhaps not coincidentally, after a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in September.

When he returns to competitive action—perhaps against Bundesliga side Schalke next week—he will have played just 10 Primera Division matches this term, and his manager and teammates will be hoping he can quickly return to the form that saw him complete 90 percent of his passes and execute 16 interceptions before going down to the knock, per Squawka.

In his absence, Madrid simply haven't had the calm, deep-lying presence he offers, and against a counter-attacking opponent such as Atletico, his positional sense and defensive instincts would have been especially useful.

Granted, it may seem a bit of a stretch for a team as talent-stocked as Madrid to crave the return of a single player.

Modric, however, is anything but an ordinary contributor. He is the metronome to which the European champions are set. And without him, as they've shown, Real Madrid are out of time with themselves and off-beat when it matters most.