By Jonty Banks

17th Mar, 2023 | 9:50am

Sean Dyche and Everton should move on from Dominic Calvert-Lewin charade amid latest injury setback

Sean Dyche should move on from the charade of Dominic Calvert-Lewin being the saviour of Everton this season after the striker was once again missing from training on Thursday, 16 March.

Time after time this season, the attacker has been absent from first-team selection due to a rotten run of injuries, and it is surely now time that Everton face the harsh truth that the England striker cannot cope with the physicalities of the Premier League.

Footage broke on Thursday morning (16 March) that the 26-year-old was missing from training under Dyche, with the manager later sharing that the club were “monitoring his body”. [Liverpool Echo]

The England international has managed to get himself fit enough to feature for just 735 minutes of Premier League action this season – 11 appearances – and has been stuck to the Goodison Park medical table for the last six outings.

The club cannot continue to back Calvert-Lewin to deliver the goods in the Premier League if the smallest knock is going to keep him out of action for a large period of time.

Yes, there is no doubting his previous heroics for the club, and this could be partly why the board have stuck by his side for so long, but the time has come to make a business decision and part ways with the striker this summer.

Even when fit this season, the Englishman has looked a yard short of the pace, and from the stands, doesn’t even look comfortable diving into 50/50 challenges due to the threat of a potential injury.

As was the case with forwards in the past such as Michael Owen, significant amounts of time on the sidelines can completely change a player for the worse, with the former Liverpool striker never being the same dynamic force after rupturing his hamstring in 1999.

All corners of the Everton fanbase will hope that this is not the case with Calvert-Lewin, but the striker’s impact in front of goal has dropped off severely in the last two years. A total of six goals over the last season and a half simply aren’t good enough returns.

Remarkably Manchester United January signing, Wout Weghorst, has already played more minutes for the Red Devils than Calvert-Lewin has all season, highlighting what the Toffees have missed out on by not snapping up a striker during the winter window.

The club’s pursuit of several strikers in the January transfer window suggests they are finally coming to the reality that Calvert-Lewin can no longer be a first-choice forward in the Premier League, but has this come too late?