An review of Everton’s injury status as the pandemonium of the first weeks of the season begins to ease. Everton have recovered from the injury and illness crises that plagued the start of the season, but they still have concerns in their roster. Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dwight McNeil approached the last days of the week with worries about their fitness. Sean Dyche says McNeil could be available for the trip to Southampton, where he scored his first competitive goal for the Blues two years ago.
The 24-year-old limped out of the last stages of last weekend’s draw with Fulham and missed a training session at Goodison Park on Thursday to work with the physiotherapist. Doucoure, who also started last Saturday’s game, sustained a slight groin injury but was expected to recover in time for the trip to St Mary’s. Match fitness is the most pressing concern in the squad now that several key players have returned from injury absences.
Fulham’s bench included Jarrad Branthwaite, Seamus Coleman, and Nathan Patterson, with Branthwaite coming on for the final few minutes. This week, Dyche must decide whether to play the centre back or one of his specialist right backs. The expectation is that James Tarkowski has recovered from the worst of the minor injuries he sustained in the early weeks.
However, the camp is dealing with a number of long-term difficulties. Armando Broja appears to be the most likely to return. The striker, who joined Everton on loan from Chelsea on transfer deadline day, is yet to play for the club owing to an achilles injury. However, while he continues to work with the sports science staff, he might rejoin the first team squad next week to begin the next part of his journey to the matchday squad.
Dyche stated ahead of the trip to Southampton that James Garner is expected to miss at least the next month due to a back injury sustained during the last international break, though it is believed to be unrelated to the stress fracture that sidelined him for several months in his first season at Everton. Meanwhile, Tim Iroegbunam and Youssef Chermiti will be sidelined for a prolonged period of time, with Iroegbunam suffering a foot injury last month and Chermiti requiring surgery following a promising start to pre-season.
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