James Rodriguez didn't just have a rough afternoon against France. The Colombia captain was rushed to hospital afterwards with severe dehydration, spending 72 hours under clinical monitoring before returning to Minnesota to recover.
The Colombian football federation confirmed the hospitalisation on Thursday, careful to stress that the episode was "unrelated to any musculoskeletal injuries and is not linked to the performance of his footballing activities." Which raises its own questions — if it wasn't football, what caused it? They haven't said.
A fitness picture that's been murky for months
Rodriguez has played 39 minutes of club football since joining Minnesota United in February. Thirty-nine. Head coach Nestor Lorenzo started him against Croatia in a friendly anyway, then again for 63 minutes against France — a match Colombia lost 3-1 and in which Rodriguez looked sluggish and disconnected before being substituted. The criticism of Lorenzo for playing an underprepared 34-year-old in back-to-back warm-up fixtures isn't unfair. This outcome makes it harder to defend.
Minnesota United confirmed he's recovering and said his availability for this weekend's clash with LA Galaxy would be updated on Friday. Given the context, that update is unlikely to be positive.
Colombia's World Cup group — Portugal, DR Congo, and Uzbekistan — is not a soft draw. Portugal alone will demand a functioning, fit Rodriguez if Colombia want to make it out. He's the player around whom Lorenzo builds the attack. He's also, right now, a player who's barely trained with his club side and just spent three nights in a hospital bed.
The World Cup picture
Rodriguez was the top scorer at the 2014 World Cup. He's made over 100 appearances for Colombia and is set to captain them this summer. The tournament doesn't wait for anyone to get their minutes up, and Colombia's opening fixtures are approaching fast.
Whether this dehydration episode has any lasting physical impact remains unclear. What's already clear is that his preparation for the biggest tournament of his remaining career has been, at best, deeply disrupted. Colombia's odds in Group K just got a little harder to back with confidence.
The federation says he'll recover. The question is how much time there is left to actually get him ready.
