James Rodriguez has returned to full training with Real Madrid following a knee injury that he sustained in November.
Fitness problems have plagued Rodriguez this season and reduced him to a marginal figure within Zinedine Zidane’s squad after returning from a two-year loan at Bayern Munich.
Prior to picking up his most recent knock while on international duty with Columbia last month, the forward also missed portions of the campaign due to recurrent muscle complaints.
These issues have restricted Rodriguez to just seven La Liga appearances this season and his return to training, as reported by AS, will be welcomed by fans and player alike.
The Colombian signed for Los Blancos at the beginning of the 2014/15 season from FC Porto, after a string of eye-catching performances at the World Cup made him one of the most sought after talents in Europe.
In his inaugural campaign with the club, Rodriguez registered 16 goals and 18 assists as Real were pipped to the La Liga title by Barcelona.
Since then, the forward has struggled to replicate this impressive form and was shipped out on a two-year loan deal to Bayern at the start of 2017/18 season. Back at the Santiago Bernabeu this campaign, these fitness issues have prevented him from forcing his way back into the first team.
As well as Rodriguez, a number of other Real squad members have struggled with injuries of late. Marco Asensio – who is expected to miss most of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament – as well as Lucas Vazquez, Marcelo and Eden Hazard all missed training on Thursday as they continue rehabilitation from their respective injuries.
Their knocks ruled them out of an underwhelming Clásico on Wednesday evening, in which Real and Barcelona played out a goalless draw.
Los Blancos will be hoping for a better result when they take on Athletic Club on Sunday, in what is their final game of 2019.
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