Reports: Madrid's James Rodriguez out for three weeks

James Rodriguez will miss Real Madrid’s derby against Atletico Madrid on Sunday and will not be available for Colombia’s upcoming internationals, either, according to Marca on Sunday. 

The Madrid midfielder will be out for three more weeks and, after the international break, should be able to return to training with a view to being in top condition for November. James’ recent setback came on Thursday in a training session after the win over Malmo in the Champions League. 

Rafa Benitez was clear when speaking about the situation: “We worked on Thursday with the injured players and he felt a pain in the same area as the injury. He’s not ready to play for us yet and neither Colombia. The new problem is not serious, although the objective was to recover as soon as possible and be ready for Atletico. But we tested him and he didn’t come through it.” 

In addition, the Spanish coach wanted to avoid a possible clash with Colombia and their medical team, adding: “Fortunately, the doctors from the Colombian national team and their manager [Jose] Pekerman, are in Madrid, they have been given all the information and everything is clear.”