Sean Fisher

Sun 6 November 2022 15:39, UK

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s chances of making the England squad for the World Cup look slim after he suffered a hamstring injury for Everton against Leicester.

Just two games after returning to the first-team setup at Everton, Calvert-Lewin finds himself on the sidelines again with another hamstring injury after pulling up against Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.

The 25-year-old would’ve hoped to have made a late push to catch Gareth Southgate’s eye for the England World Cup squad, but Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell has given a damning reflection of his chances.

“Well, he’s not going. It was a long shot to start with,” Campbell told Sky Sports, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.

“Calvert-Lewin came back in, played back-to-back games and scored against Crystal Palace, which was great for his confidence.

“But, unfortunately, he has just not played enough football. Picking up these injuries, I think he needs a stretch of games and time where he plays a certain amount of minutes.

“You’re going to have to manage him a little bit better because he keeps pulling up.”

Unreliable

Frank Lampard will be hugely worried about what to do with Calvert-Lewin. While he obviously has the talent to lead the line for Everton, he’s hardly ever available to play.

Neal Maupay was brought in over the summer after Richarlison’s Goodison Park departure, but Lampard may be forced to dip into the market for another forward if Calvert-Lewin can’t keep fit.

On top of that, Everton may also consider selling the 25-year-old. If things continue with Calvert-Lewin spending most of his time in the treatment room, it may be best for all parties if he was offloaded.

Everton need a regular, reliable goalscorer able to play most weeks, and if Lampard wants to bring in a new striker either in January or the summer, he may need to free up a spot in the squad first.

It’d be sad to see Calvert-Lewin leave, but at the moment it’s not as if Everton fans are seeing much of him anyway.