Frank Lampard boosted as Alex Iwobi could return from injury for Everton v Southampton
Frank Lampard has been given a huge boost as Alex Iwobi could play for Everton against Southampton after recovering from injury quicker than expected.
The Nigeria international was hurt in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United and initially ruled out for three weeks with ligament damage in his ankle.
But speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday (13 January), Lampard confirmed that the injury isn’t as bad as first feared and Iwobi could play against Southampton on Saturday if he passes some checks on the morning of the game.
“It’s a lesser injury than what we thought so we’ll see in the morning if he’s ready to play tomorrow,” he said, as quoted by Richard Buxton.
Amazing
Considering the position that Everton have been in this season, and the fact that Iwobi has emerged as one of the best and most important players under Lampard, this is amazing news.
There were huge question marks about how the team would cope without his dynamism and energy, but it seems now as though we may not have to.
Should Iwobi return you would expect that he is able to go straight back into the starting lineup, which would likely mean Lampard returns to his preferred 4-3-3 system.
That could be a problem, considering the performance last time he did that against Brighton, but Iwobi is too important a player to leave out if he is able to play.
Even if he’s not fit for the Southampton clash, you would expect he’ll be available for the following game which would still be a boost in this relegation battle, so things are looking up in that sense at least.