After being handed a 2-0 loss at Goodison Park, Everton now travels on the road to face league leaders Arsenal on Wednesday evening. Everton managed to pull off a resilient 1-0 win over the Gunners in Sean Dyche’s first game in charge. Now, the away game at Emirates is tricky and to make matters worse Everton will be without Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The loss against Aston Villa has seen Dyche’s men drop back into the relegation zone as the Toffees now sit 18th with 21 points. The Toffees couldn’t find the killer touch despite producing decent chances through Dwight McNeil’s crosses from the left.
With games coming thick and fast, Everton will want to keep their players fit and hope no player succumbs to injury. Calvert-Lewin is the biggest doubt as he continues to be troubled by a hamstring problem and Dyche has refused to give any time frame for his return.
Everton Injury News vs Arsenal as Dominic Calvert-Lewin ruled out
Right back Nathan Patterson also missed the Villa game because of a knock on the knee. The Scotsman was on the verge of returning from a lengthy injury but a minor knock delayed his return. Meanwhile, James Garner was also out with a back injury for almost three months and is now back on the pitch
Ahead of the Arsenal clash, Dyche gave an injury update on Calvert-Lewin as Everton’s lack of goalscoring was highlighted. The former Burnley boss also gave the update on Garner and Patterson who have been out with lengthy injuries but are now close to a return.
"Dominic Calvert-Lewin is recovering. But there is no time frame. They [Garner and Patterson] have been out for a while. They both need games. Jimmy’s [Garner] going well, he’s getting fitter and stronger. There’s another game this week, so we’d probably get him in that one. After three-ish months, he should be fit, he’s going well. Patto [Patterson] is just a bit behind so he’ll need a bit more time (via club’s official Youtube Channel)"
The Toffees still being without Calvert-Lewin will continue to hurt them as Neal Maupay and Ellis Simms are not able to provide the required goalscoring threat. Patterson’s delay could also be a cause of concern as the Scotsman’s fine attacking skills could be put to use.
With back to back fixtures, work load needs to be managed and having Garner at least on the bench could have given some cushion in the midfield. At the moment, Dyche is only able to call on Tom Davies from the bench as Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure continue to operate from the heart of the midfield.
Will Dominic Calvert-Lewin return for the game this weekend?