James Rodriguez Injury: Updates on Real Madrid Star's Foot and Return

Real Madrid's James Rodriguez suffered a fracture in his right foot on Feb. 4 against Sevilla, and it was suggested the 23-year-old would be absent for up to two months, as reported by James Whaling of the Mirror. He returned to full training on March 31 and was in the starting lineup against Granada on April 5.

Continue for updates.

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Rodriguez Starts Against Granada

Sunday, April 5

Real Madrid's official Twitter account confirmed Rodriguez's role against Granada:

On April 3, Peter Martin of Sport first reported Rodriguez would start Sunday against Granada. 

"James Rodriguez is closing in on a return to first team action with Real Madrid," EFE (via Sport) reported on March 24. "The Colombian returned to training on Tuesday and Carlo Ancelotti hopes to have him available for the title run in and the latter stages of the Champions League."

On March 12, Rodriguez posted a video to Instagram of himself running on a low-gravity treadmill. The caption reads, "Seguimos, Cada dia mejorando. improving every day": 

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Rodriguez Desperate for Rapid Recovery

Friday, Feb. 27

This contrasts previous reports, in which Rodriguez was said to be "determined to reduce the initial two-month period set by the doctors" according to Marca, who translated the Colombian's latest Instagram post.

The Real Madrid star posted the following video, accompanied by the words: "Third week and the feelings are good. Stronger than ever."

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Rodriguez Surgery Deemed a Success

Friday, Feb. 6

Rodriguez successfully underwent surgery in Murcia on Feb. 6, as confirmed by the following statement on Madrid's website (h/t by Marca):

"The operation was a complete success and was carried out by Doctor Mariano de Prado under the supervision of Doctor Jesus Olmo, the Real Madrid C. F. doctor."

On Feb. 4, Madrid revealed initial test results prior to surgery, confirming he suffered "a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot."  

Prior to learning of the test results, manager Carlo Ancelotti commented on Rodriguez's status following the match, a 2-1 Real Madrid win, via ESPN's Dermot Corrigan:

The 23-year-old sensation joined Los Blancos during the summer of 2014 and transitioned almost seamlessly into Ancelotti's starting XI, receiving high praise from pundits and fans.

While many expected the team's marquee signing would need some time to adapt to La Liga, he immediately exceeded all expectations and quickly made the fans forget about Angel di Maria, who left the club for Manchester United to make room for Rodriguez.

Daniel Tejedor/Associated Press

The midfielder is a pivotal part of Los Blancos' starting XI, as evidenced by this stat from OptaJose:

Spain international Isco has made himself undroppable in Rodriguez's absence, with Ancelotti saying: "If he is fit, he will play," per Ruiz. The former Malaga man has found a home playing in a deeper slot but is more than capable in an advanced role as well.