Kovac to check on James calf blow

James Rodriguez will need tests on a calf injury after Bayern Munich’s 1-1 draw at Nurnberg, says head coach Niko Kovac.

Colombia midfielder James came off the bench early in the second half during Sunday’s Bundesliga clash, but he lasted only 15 minutes before having to be replaced himself, with Alphonso Davies coming on.

Despite the blow of losing James, Serge Gnabry equalised to cancel out Matheus Pereira’s opening goal and the Bundesliga leaders had a lucky escape in added time when Tim Leibold’s penalty came back off the post.

Bayern moved two points clear of title rivals Borussia Dortmund as a result of the draw, but Kovac is unsure of the severity of James’ injury.

“He has already been treated but it needs more investigation,” Kovac said to Sky of James, whose loan from Real Madrid expires at the end of the season.

“After five minutes Thiago [Alcantara] came to me and said James felt something on the calf. He could not define exactly if something has broken or if he has just pulled something.”

Niko #Kovac: “Nürnberg made it difficult for us from the first to the final minute. We need to move on quickly and win the next three games.”

On @jamesdrodriguez: “He had a problem with his calf and we didn’t want to take any risks.”#FCNFCB pic.twitter.com/d4WHPrbfoY

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) April 28, 2019

Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic appeared to be involved in the decision to withdraw James, who walked down the tunnel, but Kovac clarified what happened.

“It was very loud in the stadium, he ran to the sideline and Hasan, who speaks Spanish very well, asked him what was the matter,” Kovac added.

“We did not know if we had to take him out right away, we were thinking about changing another player.”

The title race remains in Bayern’s hands but Kovac accepted his side were affected by their midweek exertions against Werder Bremen, who they beat to reach the DFB-Pokal final.

“We saw that we had a tough cup match Wednesday,” he said. “Nurnberg have thrown themselves into every ball and have for 90 minutes passionately played football and also defended.

“They fought for the point. We had opportunities today, but we still have to be happy that we took a point.

“We were struggling today because Nurnberg were good, but also because we did not have our normal form today.

“It’s really annoying because we could have won and moved away to four points [clear of Dortmund].”