James Rodriguez has revealed he has been battling through the pain barrier to play for Everton in recent months.

The Colombian striker has only managed to complete a full 90 minutes once since his appearance against Burnley on December 5.

A calf strain ruled him out for the remainder of December and despite the 29-year-old returning on New Year’s Day against West Ham, his time on the pitch has been limited.

It culminated in a further three games on the sidelines following the 2-0 win at Liverpool, with Rodriguez taking to Twitch (via: Liverpool Echo) to explain his absence.

“I had been suffering from a lot of discomfort for many months, which prevented me from feeling well,” he said.

“So, I had to stop for a few days; I have a couple more days left. Soon I’ll be playing, it’s nothing serious, but I had to recover from all these problems, I had knocks and everything.”

While returning to help Everton’s top-four challenge is his main priority, Rodriguez also has one eye on events this summer.

The Copa America kicks off on June 11, with Colombia co-hosting the tournament alongside Argentina.

“I want to finish the season well, because everything that comes at the end of March, April and May is very complicated. The Copa America as well.

“So I want to be well, and that’s why I stopped a little bit. First is health, and I’ll be fine.”

Rodriguez is set to be out of action until after the international break, with manager Carlo Ancelotti in full agreement with the decision.

Ancelotti, speaking at his press conference on Friday, said the lay-off came after consultation between the player and club.

And he made it clear that he expects the player to be back firing at all cylinders come the resumption.

“We decided to give him a proper recovery and not let him play at 70 per cent or 80 per cent,” said Ancelotti.

“He has to recover and when he is at 100 per cent, he is going to play again.

“It’s better for him to solve his problem and to be ready for the end of the season. That can be, I think, after the break.
“It’s not a big problem, because with the same problem he played against Liverpool and Manchester United.”