There was some speculation surrounding how long clubs around the world would have access to players scheduled to play for their countries during the Africa Cup of Nations. With the tournament set to start on December 21, the original expectation was that players would all be released from club duty on December 7.
However, FIFA has recently intervened, indicating that players must be allowed to leave no later than December 15, which means many will be available for their clubs for an additional weekend.
The notice does allow for a player-by-player allowance, and suggests that FIFA will help to mediate any potential issues between and player and his club.
In the case of Everton, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye are set to play for Senegal in the competition, so they'll now have one more game with the Toffees before departing for Morocco.
For Gana, this is good news considering his recent red card suspension, which will force him to miss Saturday's match against Nottingham Forest. The new expectation will allow Gana to play in the Toffees' match at Stamford Bridge on December 13 before leaving for the tournament, which will be excellent considering he'll have essentially missed four matches due to the suspension.
Ndiaye has continued to be a regular, nailed-on starter for David Moyes' group, so it won't change anything for him. The hope is that he can help Everton secure more points before he leaves, as the club looks to keep climbing the table after Tuesday night's big win at the Vitality Stadium.
The ups and downs in the midfield since Gana left less than 15 minutes into the match at Old Trafford last Monday will certainly have Evertonians concerned about the Senegal internationals' absence, as the pairing of James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam were sliced up against Newcastle.
Iroegbunam, paired next to a deeper-lying Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, bounced back against Bournemouth, but he's now suspended for Saturday's match due to yellow card accumulation, meaning Moyes will be forced to go back to the drawing board for his starting unit.
The hope will be that the English midfielder can continue playing like he did against the Cherries through the end of December and into January, as there's no certainty when Gana will return.
As for the right wing, what Moyes will do in Ndiaye's absence remains to be seen. Summer signing Tyler Dibling is the most like-for-like replacement, but hasn't seen much of the pitch since his arrival. And Dwight McNeil has not performed well when called upon in that area of the pitch.
It will be an "all hands on deck" scenario for Everton with the loss of two key players, but at least there's no a firmer indication of when that will start.