For the second time in as many seasons, center back Jarrad Branthwaite has missed the beginning of the Premier League season due to injury.
Last season, Branthwaite made his Premier League debut on September 28 at Goodison Park against Crystal Palace after playing in a PL2 match six days earlier against Sunderland. The defender played 90 minutes in both matches, and after two substitute cameos in the following two matches against Fulham and Southampton, would go on the be the nailed-on starter for the remainder of the campaign.
Everton will be hoping for a similar outcome this year, although the hope would be that the international break will have allowed the England international the chance to be ready for the Toffees' return, Saturday against Aston Villa at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Known club insider El Bobble reported a few days ago that Branthwaite has "stepped up his workload in training," but there is no indication as to whether that means he'll be ready for Saturday. Even if he has recovered from the hamstring injury, the likelihood is that he'd still need to work up his fitness level to be able to play a full match.
Whether that means he'll need another PL2 match to build up minutes remains to be seen, but since the U21 squad plays on Tuesday September 16 away to Tamworth in the National League Cup, and then against Villa's U21 side at Finch Farm on Friday September 19, the need to play in one of those matches means his return to the senior side wouldn't come until the Merseyside derby at Anfield on September 20.
If he's healthy enough, the best option would seem to be to rest Branthwaite for Saturday, let him play on Tuesday, and hope he recovers well enough to play at Liverpool.
It's a long season, and pushing a key element of the Everton defense, both for now and the future, this early in the campaign doesn't make a lot of sense, especially given the concern swirling around the club's handling of left back Vitalii Mykolenko's recent return to the team.
The pairing of Michael Keane and James Tarkowski has been okay, but the duo clearly lacks the pace that Branthwaite provides, and there's no question that either Keane or Tark next to JB allows the slower defender to be a better player. The defined roles make everyone better, and Everton's defense should improve because of that.
So even if Branthwaite is close, rushing him back isn't ideal. The focus for David Moyes has to be the season, not one game against Villa in September.