When Iliman Ndiaye went down in the 25th minute of the final Goodison Merseyside derby, the worry was that Everton would be without its best offensive player for the rest of the season. With Premier League safety still not confirmed and goals at a premium, that was quite troubling.
But the Senegal international returned for the reverse derby match at Anfield in early April, far earlier than most supporters would have expected, if they even believed he'd return at all this campaign.
Ndiaye scored his first goal since February 1 in the match following the derby, a penalty equalizer at Goodison against Arsenal that gave Everton a much-needed point as their safety began to feel more and more solid as the weeks went by.
Since his return from the knee injury, Ndiaye hasn't always looked his best and it has taken a while for him to get back up to full fitness, managing no more than 78 minutes in matches against Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, and Chelsea in Everton's most difficult run of matches for the entire season.
He had one of his better games in playing the full 90 in the disappointing draw to Ipswich, but didn't start against Fulham before playing the final 30 minutes as the Toffees began to turn the game in their favor at Craven Cottage.
But with Southampton coming to Merseyside for the final match at Goodison Park, the opposition provides Ndiaye with an opportunity to show off his skills again, as the expectation will be that the Saints will park the bus, meaning players with a knack for possession and dribbling might be able to do some damage.
On the whole, this is not Everton's strength, but when Ndiaye is at his best, he is a great dribbler of the football and a player who makes his hay with progressive dribbles into the opponent's box (his 81 progressive carries lead the team and his 115 progressive passes received are second behind Jack Harrison).
Southampton will do all it can to keep Ndiaye off the ball, but the creativity of the Everton talisman should overwhelm the Saints' poor defense, allowing him to take over the match and, hopefully, bring all three points home for the Toffees.