Everton injury news drops on Nathan Patterson and James Garner
Sean Dyche has confirmed he will watch Everton duo James Garner and Nathan Patterson play for the Under-21s on Friday (17 February) as they step up their return from injury.
Summer signing Garner has been out of action for the Toffees since November with a troublesome back injury, while Patterson picked up a menial ligament injury in Everton’s 4-1 defeat to Brighton last month.
Speaking to the press at Finch Farm on Thursday afternoon (16 February), Dyche revealed he was going to watch the two feature for the Everton youth side as he looks to integrate them back into first-team proceedings.
As shared by the club’s official Twitter account, Dyche said: “A couple of the lads will play tomorrow, which I’m going over to watch.
“Jimmy [James Garner] will play tomorrow, after a bit of a time out, and Patto [Nathan Patterson] will play as well in an Under-21s fixture, so I’ll go and watch them for the first time.
“They’re not there yet, you understand, but they have been on the grass with us, and now it’s time to put into game practice and then take it on next week.”
Options
As Dyche starts to get to grips with his Everton squad on Merseyside, the news that Garner and Patterson are close to full fitness will come as a huge bonus after the defeat to Liverpool.
Although the Englishman got life off to the perfect start with a victory over title-chasing Arsenal, the Toffees boss was brought back down to earth as his side fell to a 2-0 defeat to their local rivals.
The harsh realities may have finally started to hit homes for Dyche, but having former Manchester United graduate Garner returning will add another string to his bow.
Recently, Everton have been forced to play a pretty unimaginative midfield combination due to their lack of options, with none of Idrissa Gueye, Abdoulaye Doucoure or Amadou Onana possessing the creativity to carve open a well-drilled Premier League defence.
However, in Garner, Dyche has a player who could take up this position. The 21-year-old possesses the passing range to split defences open – even if supporters are yet to witness this in a Toffees shirt.