Manager fears injured James won’t make it
COLOMBIA will find out today whether James Rodriguez has any chance of being fit to face England in Tuesday’s last-16 showdown in Moscow. The Bayern Munich playmaker was substituted with an injury to his left thigh in the win over Senegal and had an MRI scan yesterday. Colombia fear he will not be fit to face England with James, 26, lasting just half an hour of Thursday’s game having been unfit to start their opening defeat by Japan. His absence would be a huge boost for England, given the 2014 Golden Boot winner’s importance as a creative force. Manager Jose Pekerman said: ‘I am extremely concerned. It is a very tough situation for my team.’ And a leading Colombian sports surgeon cast doubts yesterday. Dr Edgar Munoz said: ‘Whenever there is a muscle tear there is scarring and there are problems if the scarring does not heal. The player breaks down again when he applies too much pressure on the muscle.’