James Rodriguez ruled out of Everton's clash against Chelsea

Dec 12, 2020

Liverpool [UK], December 12 : Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti on Friday confirmed that star player James Rodriguez will miss the side's clash against Chelsea on Sunday.
The midfielder sustained a minor calf problem in last week's 1-1 Premier League draw at Burnley and has not trained this week.
"We have James out - he had a little problem in the game against Burnley. He was not able to train this week, I think he will start to train next week. For this game, we don't want to take a risk," Goal.com quoted Ancelotti as saying.
"He had a charge on his calf muscle after the game against Burnley. Nothing special, but he was not able to train. We have to look at him after the game to see if he will be able to train and play against Leicester [City, on Wednesday]," he added.
Everton have lost their last two home games against Leeds United and Manchester United, dropping to ninth in the table after topping the standings in the early stages of 2020-21.
Ancelotti ruled out captain Seamus Coleman and midfielder Fabian Delph, who had both hoped to feature, while Lucas Digne and Jean-Philippe Gbamin are longer-term absentees.
"I'm not used to complaining about the players who are not available. The players who are available trained well and are in good condition. We understand that there will be an important moment and test, not only on Saturday but in this period of December. So, I think we arrive at the game with confidence and motivation," the manager said.