Opinion: Why Everton Will be Thankful for the Upcoming International Break
By Tom Power
Blues are in good form right now – but international break offers opportunity to reduce growing injury list
Everton‘s fine start to the 2018/19 campaign continued on Wednesday with a routine 3-1 victory over Rotherham United in the Carabao Cup second round.
The Toffees put their League One opponents to the sword to make it four matches unbeaten at the start of the new term – form that will please both Marco Silva and the club’s fans.
Everton entertain Huddersfield Town at Goodison Park on Saturday before the first international break of the season allows club football to take a welcome breather after a breathtaking start.
For the Blues, the break could come at the wrong time for their good form – but there’s another area where they’ll be slightly relieved for a fortnight to rest up.
Everton’s injury list has slowly grown over the course of the opening weeks, and has led to Silva having to deploy stars in successive matches when he would likely wanted to rest them.
Gylfi Sigurdsson, Theo Walcott, Cenk Tosun and Mason Holgate have all played some part in each of Everton’s four games this term, and could have done with the night off against the Millers in midweek.
The amount of first-team players unavailable to Silva hampered those potential plans though, and the international break will allow some sidelined stars to finally return to the fold when Everton host West Ham on September 16.
Michael Keane, who suffered a hairline skull fracture in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, joined fellow centre-back Yerry Mina on the treatment table as Silva’s defensive options were stretched thin ahead of Wednesday’s win.
Club captain Phil Jagielka, suspended for three games due to his opening day red card, has also suffered a knee cartilage problem training – leaving just Holgate and Kurt Zouma as the only senior centre-back options for Silva to pick.
Summer arrivals Bernard and Andre Gomes were out with muscle issues, Idrissa Gana Gueye sprained a knee in training and Ademola Lookman, the subject of intense interest from RB Leipzig all summer long, has a groin problem to contend with.
Coupled with the suspended Richarlison, Silva was missing eight senior players ahead of the Rotherham tie and will be desperate to have some options available again when club football resumes in mid-September.
The Portuguese boss will be hoping that his fit stars return from international duty free of knocks and bruises, otherwise he may be forced into more necessary changes against the Hammers.
One bit of good news to emerge on Wednesday was that Morgan Schneiderlin is fit again after he sustained a problem in the 2-1 win over Southampton 11 days ago, and the Frenchman could deputise for Gueye whilst the Senegalese midfielder overcomes his own injury.
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If Silva can get some of his personnel back fit before facing West Ham, the international break will have been worth it in some capacity at least.