After defeat at Chelsea on Monday and another week of bad news as far as injuries are concerned, Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti has said he expects Jean-Philippe Gbamin to return to action before this season in over.
This news won’t send shivers of excitment down the spines of most Everton supporters considering how little they have seen of the Ivory Coast player, but it could prove really helpful to have the midfielder back in time for the last few Premier League matches as the Blues push for European qualification.
Gbamin has played so little since he signed in the summer of 2019 that his return to action will be a slightly surreal moment and it will seem like a a brand new player has just signed.
He has been so unlucky with injuries that I’m most Toffees fans will wish him every bit of good fortune in overcoming all these setbacks.
It’s very difficult to know what level of performance he will be able to provide given how long he has been out. But if he’s able to play at something approaching the form for Bundelsliga side Mainz that persuaded Marco Silva to bring him to Goodison Park, then he could make an important impact.
Ancelotti says he thinks Gbamin will be fine when he does return to action and doesn’t expect any further setbacks from his continuing rehabilitation. We have heard optimistic bulletins from the Blues manager before on Gbamin so we’ll wait and see.
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Gbamin’s prospective return is particularly important because if the injury to Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The Frenchman’s absence could hardly be more badly timed and could really hurt Everton’s push for a European or even a Champions League place.
The lack of his dynamic play in midfield, especially on the right side of the team will be badly missed.
Hopefully Gbamin’s return will help cover for Doucoure’s absence ini those final few matches and will also give Ancelotti more midfield options generally.
The Ivory Coast international can slot into that deeper central midfield role which would allow Allan who has been playing there, to move further forward and contribute more offensively.
Gbamin’s return will also give Ancelotti another option at centre-back as he often plays there for his country. This again could be very helpful in that run-in as several of his first choice central defenders particularly Mason Holgate and Yerry Mina regularly have injury issues.