Colombia includes Falcao despite injury

• by Mike Woitalla  @MikeWoitalla, May 13, 2014

[WORLD CUP 2014] Colombia coach Jose Pekerman is still hoping that Radamel Falcao, who underwent ACL surgery in January, will be fit in time for the World Cup. Falcao, who last year joined Monaco from Atletico Madrid on an estimated $80 million transfer, has been named to Colombia's provisional 30-man roster.

Falcao’s scoring rate over the past few years rivaled Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic before he was taken out in a French Cup game against fourth division Chasselay Monts d'Or Azergues.

He scored nine goals in World Cup qualifying as Colombia finished second to Argentina and last year Pekerman predicted Falcao would be the “best player at the World Cup.”

Colombia will play World Cup warm-up games against Senegal May 31 and Jordan June 6 in Buenos Aires.

Colombia (30)
Goalkeepers: David Ospina (Nice/FRA), Faryd Mondragon (Deportivo Cali), Camilo Vargas (Santa Fe).
Defenders: Mario Yepes (Atalanta/ITA), Aquivaldo Mosquera (Club America/MEX), Cristian Zapata (AC Milan/ITA), Carlos Valdes (San Lorenzo/ARG), Amaranto Perea (Cruz Azul), Eder Alvarez Balanta (River Plate/ARG), Santiago Arias (PSV Eindhoven/NED), Camilo Zuniga (Napoli/ITA), Pablo Armero (Napoli/ITA).
Midfielders: Carlos Sanchez (Elche/SPA), Fredy Guarin (Inter Milan/ITA), Abel Aguilar (Toulouse/FRA), Aldo Leao Ramirez (Morelia/MEX), Juan Fernando Quintero (Porto/POR), Victor Ibarbo (Cagliari/ITA), James Rodriguez (Monaco/FRA), Macnelly Torres (Al Shabab/KSA), Juan Guilermo Cuadrado (Fiorentina/ITA), Edwin Valencia (Fluminense/ITA), Alexander Mejia (Nacional), Elkin Soto (Mainz/GER).
Forwards: Radamel Falcao (Monaco/FRA), Carlos Bacca (Sevilla/SPA), Adrian Ramos (Hertha Berlin/GER), Luis Fernando Muriel (Udinese/ITA), Teofilo Gutierrez (River Plate/ARG), Jackson Martinez (Porto/POR).