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In England they call it ‘mind game’. In Colombia they call it ‘cañar’. On both sides of the ocean the discussion is the same: is James Rodríguez fit for this Sunday’s match between Southampton and Everton (9:00 am Colombian time)?
Two versions in 24 hours attracted attention, both from coach Carlo Ancelotti. The first, that Rodríguez would not be in a position to face Southampton because of a bruise he suffered last weekend in a clash with Virgil van Dijk in the Merseyside derby. The second, a day later, that the player has a chance to be against Southampton on Sunday as his recovery accelerated.
The conclusion is that in the last hours he trained “partially” and that this Saturday he will be evaluated, after training, to know if he can play or not.
Mental games? The British press wonders if the strategy has to do with a veiled defense of Pickford, the center of harsh criticism for the cruciate ligament injury that caused the Dutchman in a crash.
Fortunately, the coach could be asked directly: “No, the problem was that, at first, the specialist who saw him said that he was out for at least a week and could not train all week. But after that his recovery was good, the bruise went down in the last two or three days and he started training today (Friday). I don’t want to play mind games, I never did and I don’t know what they mean, so what I said was just the truth, “he explained.
“I just said it was a contact with Van Dijk. It could be a contact with Matip, with … it’s in the first minute that you can see. That’s football, it can happen ”, he added.
“What I said is what happened. Until yesterday James was not here, he stayed at home, fortunately his recovery was good, he came this morning, he trained partially and tomorrow we will see if he can play or not,” concluded the Italian.
It means that, according to the coach’s version, James was indeed discarded but in the last hours he was an alternative again. He talks about the player’s willingness to be fit, to speed up the rhythm so as not to leave the plans, to want to stay on top, the same for the classic against the champion Liverpool as for the half-table rival, which comes to draw 3-3 against Chelsea but also from being thrashed by Tottenham (5-2).
James will know this Saturday if it is worth risking against the number 12 of the table to maintain the leadership, when Aston Villa has it at a point (12) and Liverpool and Leeds are there, only 3 units (10), or if it is convenient take your foot off the gas and fully recover to give a hand against Newcastle if necessary (November 1) and, above all, not miss the match against Manchester United on November 7. From Colombia it would not be bad to see him take a breath, as on the 13th and 17th comes a new and demanding round of Qualifying.
