James Rodriguez joins Real Madrid injury list

Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez will be out of action for at least two weeks and will almost certainly miss Colombia's international matches against Brazil (September 7th) and Venezuela (September 11th) after picking up a calf injury.

James made his first official appearance for the club in almost two years in the 1-1 draw at home to Valladolid and was substituted midway through the second half with a physical problem.

On Monday the Real Madrid website confirmed that has "been diagnosed with a muscle injury in the soleus muscle of his right leg."

The injury will keep him out of next weekend's trip to Villarreal and makes him a major doubt for Colombia's two games in the international break.

James was expected to leave Real Madrid over the summer after returning to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium after two seasons on loan with Bayern Munich. Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane didn't pick him for any pre-season friendlies over the summer and that could have been a contributing factor to this new injury.