Dominic Calvert-Lewin steps up return to fitness in behind closed doors Everton friendly loss v Chester
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has stepped up his recovery from injury after featuring in a behind closed doors friendly for Everton on Tuesday (18 April) afternoon.
The striker hasn’t featured for the Toffees since coming off as a precaution with a hamstring problem in Sean Dyche’s first game as manager in February during the 1-0 win over Arsenal.
But after returning to training in the last few weeks, the England international has stepped up his bid to return to first-team action by getting back on the pitch for a friendly at Finch Farm against Chester.
Everton lost the game 1-0 despite Calvert-Lewin starting and playing around 70 minutes, according to the Liverpool Echo, while other first-team players such as Yerry Mina, Conor Coady, Nathan Patterson, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Tom Davies, Ellis Simms and Mason Holgate also featured.
Dyche has already hinted that Calvert-Lewin could return to the match-day squad for the clash with Crystal Palace at the weekend, and he now seems to be a step closer to that.
Massive
Everton have needed some good news for a while now, and this is exactly the type of news that will get the fans buzzing again.
Calvert-Lewin is without a doubt the wildcard for the club in their bid to avoid relegation, because he has got goals in him.
His short run in the team earlier this season coincided with a great spell for Lampard, and his injury and lack of fitness has been the main reason why the club have scored less Premier League goals than anyone else this season.
But if Calvert-Lewin is fit enough to return and actually play a part in the run-in, he could very well be the difference between survival and relegation for the Toffees this season.
This is a first step, but a huge step in his recovery and fans will be praying he can stay fit between now and the end of the season because it is a huge boost for our chances of staying up.