Real Madrid: Could injury signal end for James Rodriguez at club?

Reports out of Colombia’s camp indicate that star midfielder James Rodriguez has picked up an injury. Here’s why this could be the end of his time with Real Madrid.

James Rodriguez is a phenomenal player, but this season he’s had little to show for it due to a lack of time on the pitch. James has played just nine games for Real Madrid, tallying up 422 minutes.

In September it seemed that the Colombian was gaining Zinedine Zidane’s confidence. James played in all but one game for Madrid that month, with three wins and one draw.

In the last four games, James has been missing – either left out of the matchday squad or due to an injury as per Transfermarkt. The rumours that he has been injured have been lingering over the past few weeks, which seemed to be a fair explanation for his absence at face value.

Zidane was bold and squashed any rumours that swirled regarding the absence of both James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale, stating that they are not injured they’re just “not available”.

Rodriguez wasn’t included in Madrid’s most recent outing, a 4-0 win against Eibar in league play. To the surprise of many though he swiftly joined the Colombian national team as the international break got underway.

Once again, the rumours were flying fast suggesting that Zidane asked James to stay behind and not join his national team. Earlier this week Colombia announced that James would be a part of the matchday squad for Friday’s fixture against Peru, taking place in Miami.

Playing for the national team but not available for the club team, confusing right?

Several reports from Spanish outlets Cadena Ser and Football Espana wrote that the midfielder was injured during a training session. The severity of said injury though is unclear.

Hours later, the Colombian national team shared an update on the player confirming that he will miss tomorrow’s match. It has been speculated that Colombia has already communicated further details with Real Madrid regarding the injury.

It seemed as though things were going to get better for James Rodriguez, but that didn’t last long. James is a top talent and could provide plenty to Real Madrid, unfortunately, that won’t happen on the medical table.

Rodriguez’s future at the club was uncertain and with the winter transfer window not too far off, reports suggested that Premier League clubs Manchester United and Chelsea amongst others are showing interest.

Zidane came back in hopes of restoring Real Madrid to a winning status but that can’t happen with injured players. With a long term goal of signing Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain in the works, Real Madrid is looking to offload whoever they can. James Rodriguez’s injury may have put his name first on the list.