<p class="title">Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said he was "extremely concerned" after their playmaker James Rodriguez was forced off through injury in their final World Cup group game against Senegal on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rodriguez lasted only 30 minutes of their dramatic 1-0 victory over Senegal before being substituted, putting his participation in their last-16 match in doubt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Should the forward, who is on loan at Bayern Munich from Real Madrid, fail to recover in time for the knockouts, it would be a cruel blow for the South American side.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rodriguez was the Golden Boot winner as the tournament top scorer when they reached the quarterfinals in Brazil four years ago.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He had started Colombia's campaign on the bench for their first match against Japan as he nursed a calf injury but returned to the starting lineup with a sparkling performance in their second match against Poland.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"What I can say is that I am extremely concerned, it is a tough situation for my team," Pekerman told reporters after Colombia sealed their spot in the knockouts.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It is not comfortable for us. He trained normally until today and he stayed on after practising his freekicks and penalties.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He was fully fit in training and in the last training session, no hint of injury. Right now, I do not know where he stands."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Colombia will miss Rodriguez's creativity and ability on the ball if he misses their last-16 encounter after they laboured to breakdown Senegal before Yerry Mina's bullet header in the 74th minute sealed a dramatic win.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The result sent Colombia through as Group H winners while Senegal missed out on the knockouts by virtue of having a worse disciplinary record than rivals Japan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was the first time in World Cup history that a team had been eliminated from the tournament because of the number of yellow cards they had accrued.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Pekerman acknowledged that it was a cruel way to exit the World Cup but no worse than losing on a penalty shootout.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We all knew when we came to the World Cup that these were the rules. It was incredible to be in this situation and hard for a team to take on," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Had we been in their shoes we would have been disappointed. It happens to anybody -- in a final or semifinal. Sometimes, a World Cup final is decided on penalties. It is extremely hard."</p>
<p class="title">Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said he was "extremely concerned" after their playmaker James Rodriguez was forced off through injury in their final World Cup group game against Senegal on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rodriguez lasted only 30 minutes of their dramatic 1-0 victory over Senegal before being substituted, putting his participation in their last-16 match in doubt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Should the forward, who is on loan at Bayern Munich from Real Madrid, fail to recover in time for the knockouts, it would be a cruel blow for the South American side.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rodriguez was the Golden Boot winner as the tournament top scorer when they reached the quarterfinals in Brazil four years ago.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He had started Colombia's campaign on the bench for their first match against Japan as he nursed a calf injury but returned to the starting lineup with a sparkling performance in their second match against Poland.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"What I can say is that I am extremely concerned, it is a tough situation for my team," Pekerman told reporters after Colombia sealed their spot in the knockouts.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It is not comfortable for us. He trained normally until today and he stayed on after practising his freekicks and penalties.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He was fully fit in training and in the last training session, no hint of injury. Right now, I do not know where he stands."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Colombia will miss Rodriguez's creativity and ability on the ball if he misses their last-16 encounter after they laboured to breakdown Senegal before Yerry Mina's bullet header in the 74th minute sealed a dramatic win.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The result sent Colombia through as Group H winners while Senegal missed out on the knockouts by virtue of having a worse disciplinary record than rivals Japan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was the first time in World Cup history that a team had been eliminated from the tournament because of the number of yellow cards they had accrued.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Pekerman acknowledged that it was a cruel way to exit the World Cup but no worse than losing on a penalty shootout.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We all knew when we came to the World Cup that these were the rules. It was incredible to be in this situation and hard for a team to take on," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Had we been in their shoes we would have been disappointed. It happens to anybody -- in a final or semifinal. Sometimes, a World Cup final is decided on penalties. It is extremely hard."</p>