Football
ESPN staff 6y

Colombia's James Rodriguez will not start vs. Japan after calf injury

James Rodriguez will not start for Colombia in their World Cup opener against Japan in Saransk, Russia on Tuesday after injuring his left calf in training.

The midfielder, who was the leading scorer at the World Cup four years ago with six goals in five games, missed training on Friday with muscle fatigue.

He did, however, train on Monday, and coach Jose Pekerman said then that he would wait for a final evaluation from the medical staff on James' injury before making a decision on his squad.

Juan Fernando Quintero will start for James, who is technically available from the bench, against Japan.

Defender Yerry Mina, who had been a mainstay in the lineup during qualifying, was dropped by Pekerman.

Japan, meanwhile, left Shinji Okazaki out of the starting lineup because of a right calf strain, with Yuya Osako starting in his place.

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