Everton star James Tarkowski hobbles off with injury v Sporting
Everton star James Tarkowski has hobbled off the pitch with the physio after picking up an injury in their friendly against Sporting CP, as shared by Joe Thomas.
The Liverpool Echo journalist reported via his personal Twitter account on Saturday 05 August that the centre-back shared a joke with his physio on the way off the pitch, perhaps in a slightly relieving piece of news for fans of the Toffees as an injury may not be too serious.
Tarkowski will be a key member of Sean Dyche’s squad this season as they look to avoid falling into another relegation battle, so an injury to the defender could be detrimental just a week before the Premier League season begins.
Injuries already beginning to cause issues
It has been suggested that Everton could struggle if they face injuries this season due to a lack of squad depth, specifically upfront or out wide with a lack of players there.
Although, an injury to Tarkowski leaves the Toffees with Jarrad Branthwaite, Michael Keane, Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate able to fill the space, but while the depth is there, it would be difficult to describe many of these players as adequate replacements for Tarkowski outside of Branthwaite, who will likely line up alongside him.
Dyche will be relying on Tarkowski’s fitness as his main man in the middle of his defence, with his quality on the pitch speaking for itself, but his presence as a leader and organiser will be missed arguably even more than that quality.
Everton have been linked recently with a move for Manchester United defender Harry Maguire [Football Insider, 3 August], and news of Tarkowski’s injury could see the Toffees accelerate their interest.
In other Everton news, the club have also been linked with a move for a Chelsea defender.