Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has been criticised for his lack of clarity over James Rodriguez’s ongoing injury issues.
The former Real Madrid man recently missed the 1-0 win over Southampton, despite a star performance in the win over Liverpool at Anfield.
The reason for his absence from the victory over the Saints was left unclear, with Ancelotti refusing to comment in detail on what was going on with the Colombian star.
That is a strategy he stuck to in his pre-match press conference for this evening’s clash with West Bromwich Albion, a decision that has not gone down well in Colombia.
MARCA cover the situation today and how Ancelotti has ‘been unable to clarify’ what is going on with his star midfielder.
They urge the Everton boss to stop his ‘obscurantism’ in regards to Rodriguez as it would be better for the player, who is their ‘star’ and thus needs to be taken care of.
This is part of a wider coverage from the newspaper, who have been obsessed with Rodriguez since his move to Everton in the summer.
Amid a lengthy absence over the winter months, they regularly covered his injury history and the lack of details from Everton, essentially trying to create an idea that something was going on behind the scenes.
They continue that today, explaining how Rodriguez was missing from the Southampton game despite having been the player featured on the matchday programme.
They find this suspicious and say the club’s failure to ‘report anything’ is odd, labelling the way the club manages Rodriguez’s fitness as ‘mysticism’.
Part of this they understand, admitting it would be foolish to give opponents too many details and something they could target, but believe leaving ‘up in the air’ around the player is odd.
All of this feels like another attempt to create a story around Rodriguez’s fitness that simply isn’t there, with Everton simply managing the situation carefully given the player’s previous injuries.
The lack of detail is common for English sides, who, unlike their European counterparts, don’t publicise injuries in detail, something MARCA Colombia are yet to really grasp.
