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Everton confirm Branthwaite out for weeks

By Matt Townsend

Everton's English defender Jarrad Branthwaite warms up for the English Premier League football match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on June 21, 2020. (Photo by Jon Super / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by JON SUPER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Everton's English defender Jarrad Branthwaite warms up for the English Premier League football match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on June 21, 2020. (Photo by Jon Super / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by JON SUPER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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In more news regarding injuries, Everton have confirmed that Jarrad Branthwaite will be out of action for around a month following his knock in the Carabao Cup game on Wednesday.

There was hope the injury to the teenager wouldn’t be too serious, but it seems he’s got damaged ligaments in his left ankle and won’t feature again for Everton until sometime in late October.

This is obviously not what anyone wanted to hear with Mason Holgate also sidelined for several months, but to be honest given this club’s chronic bad luck with injuries I’m not surprised.

So this news will only give added urgency to manager Carlo Ancelotti’s search for defensive reinforcements, as he confirmed yesterday.

The Blues now only have Yerry Mina and Micheal Keane as their senior centre-backs and with Mina’s long history of injury problems I wouldn’t bank on him staying fit for long.

I hope that this unexpected and extremely irritating diversion of focus and resources, isn’t got to prevent the Toffees signing other targets they have identified, if indeed they have them.

But to be honest, I have a feeling it could derail the chances of the club getting perhaps a new right-back and possibly also a winger in before the window shuts.

In further and slightly more positive, injury-related news, the club have also confirmed that midfielders Fabian Delph and Jean-Philippe Gbamin are nearing a return to fitness.

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Delph is expected to be ready to play against Fleetwood Town next week, while for Gbamin, surprise, surprise, it’s still another month or so. Will the Ivorian ever be healthy again!?

As for Delph, the former Manchester City player’s return will hardly excite Evertonian’s given his poor form last term and I would think Ancelotti will be more than happy to ship him out this summer.

However, Gbamin’s continued absence is again so frustrating because the Ivory Coast international can of course play centre-back.

Had he been available he might have solved the problems there, at least until Holgate and Branthwaite were fit again.

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That would have saved Everton having to spend potentially at least another £5-10 million on a new central defender and that money could have gone to other transfer priorities.