Credit: Imago

Aheed Abrar

Fri 27 March 2026 16:40, UK

Everton have a nervous wait as Iliman Ndiaye has been ruled out of Senegal’s upcoming friendlies.

The winger joined his national side for the March international break, but the Senegalese Football Federation have confirmed that he won’t be able to participate against Peru and Gambia.

It’s been claimed that the 25-year-old has discomfort in his left foot after picking up an injury at the club level.

Jack Grealish is recovering at Hill Dickinson Stadium after sustaining a foot fracture in January and the Merseyside outfit will certainly hope Ndiaye’s issue isn’t as serious.

David Moyes can’t catch a break at Everton

It took a while to determine the extent of Grelaish’s fitness issue at the Toffees after initial diagnosis and the current situation with Ndiaye will surely feel like deja vu.

David Moyes has relied on the Senegalese winger a lot this season for creativity up front, especially since the Manchester City loanee’s absence.

The Englishman’s long-term injury means that the Blues have lost immense quality from the left-wing, but the former Olympique Marseille attacker has been able to compensate in recent matches.

It looked like Ndiaye was finally returning to his best after an exhausting AFCON campaign, but fans now have to wait and see whether he can return to full fitness after the international break.

The Scottish manager has already had to deal with several personnel setbacks in the current campaign and he wouldn’t want to lose Ndiaye in the final stretch of the season.

Who can replace Iliman Ndiaye vs Brentford?

Everton face Brentford in the Premier League at the Gtech Community Stadium on 11 April, which gives them plenty of time to assess Ndiaye’s situation.

If the Senegal international can’t feature for the Toffees in West London, there’s arguably no one like him in the team as a like-for-like replacement.

Moyes has found success with Beto leading the line and may not want to pair him with Thierno Barry in Ndiaye’s absence.

Harrison Armstrong and Merlin Rohl can play on the left-wing and that would undoubtedly be the more sensible call for Moyes if he’s without his mercurial winger.