Ancelotti confirms major fitness boost with Rodriguez back in training for Everton
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that summer signing James Rodriguez is back in training after suffering a calf injury.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, as reported by the Liverpool Echo’s Phil Kirkbride, Ancelotti confirmed the good news for the Toffees but insisted Rodriguez still has some way to go.
The Colombian suffered a calf injury against Burnley and was forced to miss the win over Chelsea on Saturday night.
Rodriguez is now working individually before re-joining full training with the rest of his team-mates.
A valuable insight into life without James
Thankfully for Everton, Rodriguez’s injury was nothing too serious and judging by Ancelotti’s latest comments, it should not be too long before we see him back in the royal blue.
His time out of the team has provided Ancelotti with valuable insight and proves that the Toffees can adapt without him.
In his absence, Everton put in one of their more robust and defensively sound performances of the season against Chelsea.
As per Wyscout, Chelsea were limited to just three shots on target at Goodison Park, in what was a gritty and hard-working performance.
Going forward, Everton fans also saw the best of Gylfi Sigurdsson, who created six key chances against Frank Lampard’s side and put in a Man of the Match performance, as per WhoScored.
Against Chelsea, supporters saw a different side to Ancelotti’s Everton compared to the swashbuckling form they witnessed at the start of the season, of which Rodriguez was a key part of.
Going forward, if Ancelotti can balance the grit and determination on show against Chelsea with the creativity of the Colombian, it could be a dangerous combination for Everton.
In other Everton news, Ancelotti cannot afford to rest Calvert-Lewin despite injury fears