Moyes confirms player to miss rest of season in major Everton blow
David Moyes has given an update on the availability of two Everton stars for the clash with Chelsea on Saturday.
The Blues travel to Stamford Bridge looking to continue a run of just two losses in their last 13 league matches.
However, Enzo Maresca's side are still fighting for a Champions League berth so will be a hard test for Moyes' side and the task may have been made even harder after a new update.
Tarkowski ruled out for the rest of the season
James Tarkowski was forced off in the 2-0 defeat against Manchester City on 19 April with a hamstring problem and the prognosis is not good.
Moyes confirmed in his pre-match press conference (25 April) that he is set to miss the rest of the campaign in a major loss for the Goodison Park outfit.
He said: "Tarky is out, he is going to be out for the rest of the season. It is a huge blow for us because he has been such a big part of what we have done."
In more positive news, the Toffees boss confirmed that Dominic Calvert-Lewin should return to first-team training "soon".
Everton should stay positive despite Tarkowksi blow
There is a lot for the Blues to look forward to, they cannot be relegated and their recent form suggests that they should be better next season.
They are set to move into the new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium and the Friedkin Group are set to back Moyes in the market to drastically improve his squad and try to secure a European berth next season.
| Stats (Premier League) | Tarkowski |
| Matches | 33 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Minutes played | 2924 |
The blow for Tarkowski is devastating, he is a key piece of Moyes' backline but he can allow Jake O'Brien to prove himself in his natural position rather than at right-back and Jarrad Branthwaite will have to step up in his absence until the end of the campaign.
If it does not heal by pre-season then having O'Brien acclimiatised to playing centre-back in the Premier League would be a very good idea as he has only mainly played on the right side after getting his chance.
Moyes just needs to keep the confidence up, so his side can take momentum into the new season with so much excitement flying around the club at the moment, even without the former Burnley man in the starting line-up.