Minnesota denies James Rodriguez has life-threatening muscle condition
James Rodriguez's club has shot down rumors that the Colombia captain has a serious medical condition.
Minnesota United has shot down rumors that 34-year-old midfielder James Rodriguez is suffering from a potentially life-threatening muscle condition known as rhabdomyolysis. Rodriguez was substituted in the 63rd minute of Colombia's friendly loss to France on March 29 and ended up spending several days hospitalized. The Colombia soccer federation said that Rodriguez had "presented with severe dehydration" the day after the match and was in the hospital for "preventative and recovery monitoring.
" He returned to the national team camp after he was discharged. But some reports on social media suggested that Rodriguez was dealing with rhabdomyolysis, a severe condition that can cause the rapid breakdown of muscle and can result in kidney failure. Minnesota United ended all that speculation with a statement that there was "unequivocally" no evidence of the condition in Rodriguez: "The club and our medical professionals can unequivocally state there has been no clinical or laboratory evidence of rhabdomyolysis.
We respectfully ask members of the media and the public to refrain from further speculation regarding James' health. Any additional updates will be communicated directly by the club through official channels. " Rodriguez burst onto the scene in the 2014 World Cup, winning the Golden Boot with six goals and earning himself a transfer to Real Madrid.
Rodriguez won two Champions League titles with Madrid and was loaned to Bayern Munich for a spell to get some game time from 2017-2019, but has bounced around for the past six years, playing for Everton (England), Al-Rayyan (Qatar), Olympiacos (Greece), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Rayo Vallecano (Spain) and Leon (Mexico), before signing with Minnesota in February 2026. Colombia's captain, Rodriguez also played in the 2018 World Cup and helped his country qualify for this summer's tournament in North America. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: James Rodriguez injury update: What happened to Minnesota's Colombia star?