Everton Women: Kirk rules defender Turner out for the season
Goodison News editor Elliott Cuff reporting from Friday’s pre-match press conference…
Everton Women manager Willie Kirk has confirmed that Danielle Turner is set to miss the remainder of the season following a recent calf injury.
The 29-year defender missed Everton’s last game against Chelsea with Kirk explaining prior to the fixture that a niggling issue with her calf would keep her sidelined.
Now the Everton has ruled her out for the remaining five games in the Women’s Super League, with Turner likely to go under the knife in order to be ready for pre-season.
Goodison News attended Kirk’s pre-match press conference, where the manager revealed that Turner would be the only player missing when his side face Brighton on Sunday.
When asked for an injury update regarding his squad, Kirk said: “[Sandy] MacIver is back. She’s back in full training and looking good.
“With Dan [Turner] we have another one or two consulting appointments to look at but Dan’s now focusing on pre-season, so she’ll miss the rest of the season.
“I think it’s sensible for her to do so based on the information we’ve got so far.
“There will probably be surgery required, nothing major, but if we get it done as early as possible I’d see no problems with her being ready for the first day of preseason.”
Better to be cautious
Though Turner will undoubtedly be a loss for the remaining weeks of the season, Everton are taking a sensible approach by allowing her to recover.
The Toffees are unlikely to break into the top four this season so the remaining five games are all about consolidation.
The Blues will benefit from allowing her to undergo surgery and recover in time for next season, where Kirk will look to continue seeing his side develop and progress.
Poppy Pattinson has been playing in place of Turner over the last couple of weeks and she’s given a good account of herself, so with Dan now ruled out it will be a good opportunity for Pattinson to build some momentum in the line-up.
Kirk will be buoyed to have more options next season, and he’ll more than likely delight in having a selection headache if Pattinson can keep matching the desired level.
In other Everton news, Kirk targets maximum points from Everton’s remaining WSL fixtures in order to clinch fifth.