Colombia coach Jose Pekerman remains hopeful James Rodriguez will play a part in Tuesday's round-of-16 tie against England at Spartak Stadium in Moscow.
The 26-year-old playmaker is a doubt to feature after not training since he picked up a muscular problem during Thursday's 1-0 win over Senegal.
James was substituted in the 30th minute of his team's final Group H game and tests done on Saturday showed the Bayern Munich loanee had minor swelling but no serious injury to his right calf.
"We've had the good news of the MRI scan results," Pekerman said in Monday's news conference. "He doesn't have a serious tear. Neither big nor serious. He's made a lot of progress. We have a day and a half to monitor his recovery. As always, we hope that he can be with us for what remains [of the tournament]."
The Golden Boot winner with six goals in the 2014 World Cup when Colombia reached the quarterfinals for the first time in their history, James was troubled by a calf injury earlier this month. He came off the bench in his team's 2-1 loss to Japan in their opener. James then started and set up two goals in a 3-0 triumph over Poland.
Losing James would be a big setback for Colombia, but Pekerman is convinced Los Cafeteros can do well in the event he does not recover.
"We trust both James and [captain Radamel] Falcao," Pekerman said. "They have always been crucial for the team. Whenever we've missed one of them, the side still has managed to remain close to the top 10 teams in the FIFA ranking.
"As a team we are competitive, we have many players that have played in two World Cups, who bring a lot to the team. Colombia have a lot of potential and have become a very competitive rival. We came here with expectations, hoping to achieve what the team did in Brazil. We can compete against all the favourite teams, including England.
"The team have matured throughout the tournament. We were able to keep our stability when facing adversity. We hope to me more efficient, more precise, not give the ball away and do that for longer. We can play a great game."
Pekerman praised England striker Harry Kane, who leads the goal scoring charts in the tournament with five goals despite resting in his team's 1-0 defeat against Belgium
"He is a fantastic player," the Argentine said. "He's had a great season at Tottenham, he is a very efficient goal scorer. He is going through a unique spell. We have to be very careful with him. You can't give him a chance because when a player is playing at that level, it's difficult to limit him."
Wilmar Barrios is expected to replace James, should the latter not make the starting XI, with Juan Fernando Quintero and Juan Guillermo Cuadrado playing in support of Falcao in Colombia's attack.
Falcao, who missed the tournament four years ago with an ACL injury, is excited about Tuesday's game.
The Monaco striker, who had a disappointing spell in England while playing for Manchester United and Chelsea, said: "I didn't shine in England but that it's all in the past. It's beautiful to face England at this stage of the competition. Our players are ready.
"We've been dreaming of this moment since we were children. Our players are accustomed to this type of situations. All we want is to enjoy this knowing the responsibility we face. We have a great opportunity in our hands. I dream a lot but I'm aware that we have to take it one step at a time. We are facing a big rival."
Falcao is convinced his team has what it takes to upset England.
"This World Cup is showing the balance there is worldwide," the veteran forward said. "There aren't big differences in football as we have seen so far. England may be considered favourites in their country but we are just focusing on our strengths, on what we can do, knowing the great talent Colombian players have."