James Rodriguez Misses Colombia Training And Forces Jose Pekerman To Consider Other Options For England Clash

James Rodriguez Misses Colombia Training And Forces Jose Pekerman To Consider Other Options For England Clash
13:20, 02 Jul 2018

Colombia star James Rodriguez didn’t train with his teammates on Saturday and while a scan revealed that the Bayern Munich midfielder didn’t suffer any muscle tears as originally suspected, his involvement in Tuesday’s last 16 World Cup showdown with England remains doubtful.

“I’m very worried” coach José Pekerman revealed as his men celebrated a 1-0 victory against Senegal which may have sealed their passage to the knockout phases but saw his best offensive weapon brought off after 31 minutes of play. In all fairness, the 26-year-old had hardly arrived in Russia in peak physical condition and with an unwavering problem in his left calf, was spared training for the first part of Colombia’s preparations and began a 2-1 opening Group H defeat to Japan from the bench.

By the second fixture, with his side facing elimination should they have succumbed to Poland, Pekerman was left with few alternatives than to take a risk on the 2014 Golden Boot winner in which Rodriguez racked up two fantastic assists for Yerry Mina and Juan Cuadrado in a 3-0 rout that sent the Polish packing instead.

Yet as mentioned, bad news returned in the duel against Senegal and upon feeling the same discomfort after just half an hour’s action on Thursday, James left the field visibly haggard and headed straight to the changing room, which now leaves Pekerman with a dilemma as to what his best plan of action should be against Gareth Southgate’s Group G runners-up.

The first choice would be to start Sevilla striker Luis Muriel, who directly replaced his struggling colleague against the Senegalese in occupying his slot on the far left hand side of midfield, or give Brighton left-winger José Izquierdo another chance to prove his mettle.

When it comes to replicating Rodriguez’s playmaking abilities however, Pekerman may rely upon and look no further than the thus far brilliant Juan Quintero, one of the real revelations of the tournament, to spread the ball about from the heart of midfield. Lacking Rodriguez’s pace though notably not charged with occupying the wide channels and cutting in, Quintero has already racked up one goal, against Japan, and the inch perfect assist for Radamel Falcao that found the Monaco marksman between two Poland defenders and allowed him to score his first ever World Cup goal after missing Brazil 2014 through his own injury woes.

x
Suggested Searches:
The Sportsman
Manchester United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Premier League
Sportsman HQ
72-76 Cross St
Manchester M2 4JG
We will not ask you to provide any personal information when using The Sportsman website. You may see advertisement banners on the site, and if you choose to visit those websites, you will accept the terms and conditions and privacy policy applicable to those websites. The link below directs you to our Group Privacy Policy, and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at: [email protected]

All original material is Copyright © 2019 by The Sportsman Communications Ltd.
Other material is copyright their respective owners.