By Sam Stone

22nd Sep, 2022 | 9:10am

Everton: Seamus Coleman must step up after Nathan Patterson injury

Nathan Patterson has sustained an injury whilst on international duty – and this could mean Everton veteran Seamus Coleman needs to be called upon.

Daily Mail reporter Craig Hope revealed (via his Twitter account, 22 September) that the 20-year-old has suffered an ankle injury against Ukraine which forced him off on a stretcher.

Patterson has been a standout performer for Frank Lampard this season and was praised by Kevin Campbell for his display in the Toffees’ first Premier League win of the season against West Ham.

This setback will come as a huge blow to Lampard, with the Everton boss now needing to rejig his watertight defence and plan for life without the Scotland international.

Everton are now dangerously short in the right-back position with Coleman now Lampard’s only natural option in that area. Patterson has been dynamic both defensively and offensively down the right flank which could be hard to replicate for 33-year-old Coleman.

The Goodison Park stalwart, who’s now a fringe player, has made two appearances this season with one coming in PL2 and the other in the Carabao Cup. Throwing the Irishman into Premier League action after spending much of the season on the sidelines could be a risk.

However, it seems that the Everton boss doesn’t have much of a choice considering the lack of cover he currently has for Patterson. If he doesn’t want to entrust Coleman he could diverge from the back 4 he utilised against West Ham and operate with three central defenders or he could play one of his right-sided defenders out of position.

After a solid start to the season, this is the first major test of Lampard and how he will replace Patterson in the long run.