Carlo Ancelotti puts James Rodriguez back in contention for Everton’s match with Southampton this weekend just 24 hours after ruling him out of Sunday’s Premier League clash
- James Rodriguez could feature for Everton against Southampton this weekend
- The Colombian was injured in the Toffees’ Merseyside Derby draw with Liverpool
- Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti claimed James returned to light training on Friday
- The Toffees face the Saints on Sunday looking to stay top of the Premier League
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti is hopeful James Rodriguez will be fit for Sunday’s match at Southampton – just 24 hours after admitting he expected the playmaker to miss the game.
The Colombia international sustained bruising in a challenge with Virgil Van Dijk in Saturday’s Merseyside derby but resumed partial training on Friday and if he trains again on Saturday there is a chance he could play at St Mary’s.
‘James is not definitely out,’ said Ancelotti on Friday. ‘He had a big haematoma and was not able to train until today.
James Rodriguez (above) could play for Everton in Sunday’s game against Southampton
James had an injury in last weekend’s Merseyside Derby and only restarted training on Friday
‘He is much better now and we have confidence that maybe he can play.
‘Fortunately, I think his recovery was really good and he trained today – he had a partial training session.
‘I hope he is going to train tomorrow and we will see if he is in condition to play on Sunday.’
Ancelotti also confirmed new signing Ben Godfrey will make his full debut with right-backs Seamus Coleman and Jonjoe Kenny unavailable with hamstring and ankle injuries respectively.
Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti (above) refused to rule the Colombian out of Sunday’s game
Defender Ben Godfrey (left) will keep his place in the side due to several injuries in defence
‘I think Ben played a good game (against Liverpool after coming on as a substitute for Coleman),’ he added.
‘He played against one of the best wingers in the world in (Sadio) Mane, so it wasn’t an easy game.’
Everton currently lead the Premier League table with four wins and a draw from their opening five matches this season.