Having enjoyed a flying start to life at Everton, things have hit the buffers somewhat for James Rodriguez.
The Colombian was flying earlier this season, but an injury picked up in the Merseyside derby seems to have knocked both his confidence and fitness.
Since then things have been very stop-start for the midfielder, with niggling injuries and a lack of form meaning he’s been nowhere near his top level.
A calf injury will see him miss this evening’s visit of Chelsea, which has led the Colombian edition of Marca to look at the situation.
Everton ‘cannot risk’ Rodriguez this weekend as they are fearful of a ‘relapse’ that would mean a long injury layoff.
They explain that the player’s legs are undoubtedly his ‘weak point’, particularly the soleus in his lower calf.
Since his emergence at Porto, Rodriguez has suffered nine injuries in that area alone, making it clear that area of his body is the one that suffers most when he tries to force himself through.
Thus Everton are now taking ‘special care’ with the matter, playing it safe to ensure that they don’t lose their star man for much longer.
Marca Colombia say Rodriguez’s problems are not all physical, though, with him having suffered ‘mental problems’ from both the injury picked up against Liverpool and two terrible defeats with Colombia.
These two things ‘go hand in hand’ with them claiming it’s likely he hadn’t recovered fully from that strong blow and so it ‘diminished him’.
They also argue that the ‘tremendous stress’ he’s been under with Colombia has affected him and caused the ‘small muscle problem’ he’s currently suffering in his calf.
Experience says that this is an injury that Everton ‘should not trust one bit’ because they are ‘tremendously treacherous’ and can lead to more serious issues down the line, something which happened at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Carlo Ancelotti is more than aware of this and knows Rodriguez’s injury history ‘perfectly’ and so is keen to avoid any issues and avoid aggravating the player’s ‘worst enemy’ – the leg injuries – further.
