Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane anticipated James Rodriguez's injury

James Rodriguez returned injured from international duty with Colombia, but the news did not come as a surprise to Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane saw Rodriguez's injury coming

Rodriguez's last club appearance came in October and he was training alone for the past few weeks. Although Zidane wanted him to return to full fitness before resuming training, Rodriguez was adamant that his condition was fine.

He trained well for two sessions with the national side but fell short the third time. The 28-year-old suffered a strained knee ligament and will be out for a lengthy period, with Rodriguez almost certain to miss Real Madrid's cruch game against Barcelona next month.

According to AS, the Colombian asked Zidane if he could join training with the rest of the group last week, with the Frenchman's response being,

"Better to wait until you're 100%. When you don't have any pain, then come back at full fitness."

Zinedine Zidane

Before Real Madrid's last game before the international break, Zidane was asked about James. The Real Madrid boss said,

"He still hasn't trained with the group and he can't play. Now, he'll go with their national teams and we'll see."

The two have not seen eye to eye for the majority of their time together at the Bernabeu, but Rodriguez has still made nine appearances in all competitions for the Spanish giants in the present season.

Unfortunately, Rodriguez's latest injury set-back could make him fall down the pecking order at Real Madrid.

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