The Colombian media love to fret about James Rodriguez.
At the weekend we covered worry from there about the player’s physical condition, as all his injuries over the years were piled together in one painful-to-look-at infographic.
It was explained the player’s legs are 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.
Everton then beat Chelsea 1-0, and that’s now seen further worry because they did so without James.
El Espectador have an opinion piece from Antonio Casale, and he sees the Toffees victory as a symptom of the player’s overall issues.
Everton look more balanced without their star, because Casale believes James ‘fights against modern football’, being the type of player who needs space and freedom which is no longer as possible as it once was.
Without James, Everton may ‘lose magic’, but they gain in ‘sacrifice’ and should the Colombian continue to suffer injury setbacks then ‘his possibilities are limited’.
Having seen the attacker suffer repeatedly from issues, Casale goes on to say: ‘Great athletes have managed to interrupt their losing streaks in physical aspects looking for the root of the matter. Novak Djokovic changed his diet, Mohamed Salah and Neymar implemented yoga, Rafael Nadal found his way out in stem cell treatments, many others in dentistry, some in improving their sleep. In short, searching inside himself, James can find answers to what is happening to him physically.’
It’s surely something Everton will look to help him with.
