2014 FIFA World Cup hero James Rodriguez might miss out on the 11th edition of the FIFA club World cup owing to a calf injury he suffered against Celta Vigo on Saturday.
He was substituted by Arbeloa during the match and the news of his injury was further confirmed by Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) who tweeted:
“Ancelotti: ‘James has a calf injury; we will evaluate it in the coming days. Ronaldo is fine – just a change to give him rest’”
Rodriguez has managed to stay off injury problems through his youth career; he only notably suffered a recurring hamstring problem that troubled him early in 2013.
Given the rich squad the Los Blancos boast of, the youngster’s absence might hardly be felt, but surely they will be unable to completely replace his massive flexibility in goal scoring and ball distribution.
Rodriguez has appeared in all 24 games Madrid has played across all competitions. He has scored nine times for the European champions. His absence may force Real Madrid to hasten the signing of Brazilian midfielder Lucas Silva in January.