By Jonty Banks

13th Mar, 2023 | 10:30am

Injury expert shares early Everton team news ahead of Premier League fixture v Chelsea

Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin remains a 50/50 doubt for the upcoming Premier League clash against Chelsea on Saturday (18 March), according to injury expert Ben Dinnery.

Writing for the Premier Injuries website, Dinnery shared that the Toffees striker had a 50% status and had a potential return date of 18 March from his thigh injury that has kept him sidelined since Sean Dyche’s first game in charge as manager at Goodison Park.

Nathan Patterson, meanwhile, also has a 50% status and a potential return date of the day of the clash at Stamford Bridge after stepping up his return from injury with the club’s Under-21s in recent weeks.

Everton winger Andros Townsend is the only player that is ruled out for the final match before the international break with a long-term knee injury, with a potential return date of “06/05/2023”.

Building blocks

Considering Calvert-Lewin’s injury absence, Everton have done extremely well to continually pick up results in the Premier League and stay within touch of their relegation rivals.

When the club failed to sign a striker in the January transfer window, and if anything, weakened their squad by selling Anthony Gordon to Newcastle, many fans may have feared that relegation to the Championship was a mere formality.

However, the fight and pride that Dyche’s side have shown in recent weeks is something that the Goodison fanbase can be proud of. It may not be pretty football at times, but nicking 1-0 wins here and there is a better scenario than playing attractive football but not picking up any points.

Yes, the Toffees may struggle to find the back of the net regularly in Calvert-Lewin’s absence, but they are dealing with the cards that have been dealt their way extremely well. The match against Chelsea will be a tough test, but after four points from their last two games, Dyche’s side enter the game with an uncommon feeling of optimism.