Injury expert shares Everton team news v Arsenal in Premier League
Sean Dyche will have five players ruled out for his first game as Everton manager against Arsenal in the Premier League, according to injury expert Ben Dinnery.
The Toffees take on the league leaders at Goodison Park on Saturday (4 February) and will look to propel themselves out of the relegation zone and improve on the 19th place position they currently occupy.
Writing for the Premier Injuries website, Dinnney shared the news that midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure may still be absent from the match-day squad due to an “Internal Disciplinary Matter”.
Both James Garner, with a lower back injury, and Andros Townsend, with a knee injury, are “ruled out” of the crunch clash, while Nathan Patterson is expected to return from his respective knee injury by “18/02/2023”.
The English manager will also be without defensive duo Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey with knee issues, with the pair’s return date still unknown.
Bare-bones
If Sean Dyche was upset with the club for their lack of transfer activity last month, the list of injuries picked up by his side certainly wouldn’t have improved his mood.
Whatever the Toffees are doing to pick up so many knee injuries, they need to stop, as three defensive players are ruled out with similar sounding issues.
Luckily the majority of the injuries are to players who would usually occupy bench positions under Frank Lampard, but Dyche would have still liked to have picked his first starting XI from a full complement of players.
The Englishman will hope Keane can return from his injury relatively quickly as he could prove to be a key player in his assimilation into the club.
The pair worked wonders together at Turf Moor, and the arrival of the 51-year-old could reignite Keane’s faltering Toffees career.
Garner’s expected return from injury in the coming week bodes well for Dyche’s options in midfield, and it will be interesting to see if he can get the most out of the undoubtedly talented player.