The injury hits from Sunday's Merseyside derby keep coming for Everton.
After losing Jarrad Branthwaite for the remainder of the season due to a hamstring problem suffered late in that match, Everton manager David Moyes announced today that Beto has a concussion and will miss Saturday's match against West Ham United.
That means that Moyes will need to adjust his preferred lineup, as the Guinea-Bissau international has overtaken Thierno Barry as the manager's no.1 striker in recent weeks.
Branthwaite's injury means that Moyes will be forced into two major changes on Saturday, although the hope is, at least here at PRT, that he'll think outside the box to fill center back, even if Michael Keane has proven himself enough to earn a new contract.
Obviously, Barry will likely step into Beto's role in the starting lineup, especially if the concussion is a short-term issue for Everton's leading scorer this season.
Barry is just two behind Beto's eight, and has shown himself at times to be a capable option up top for the Blues, even if he's isn't the target man that Beto is when he's playing as the lone striker.
The move might force Moyes into some tactical adjustments, possibly doing something like moving Iliman Ndiaye into a second striker role just behind Barry to give the Frenchman something to aim for.
No matter what Moyes opts to do to open up his squad heading into an important match against West Ham in London, there's no doubt that Beto will be mixed.
He's scored four goals over his last three matches, including a brace against Chelsea before the international break, along with temporarily restoring matches against Brentford and Liverpool back on equal footing in back-to-back weeks.
Everton could be looking at a match where they'll have a lot of the ball, as West Ham are second from the bottom in average possession this season at 42.4%, although the Toffees are just two spots ahead of the Hammers at 43.6%.
That suggests that neither team will be terribly comfortable having to control the match with the ball at its feet, and the lack of an outlet like Beto in Everton's lineup could be a hindrance.
Beto did start in the reverse fixture for Moyes, but that was early in the season, before Barry was fully comfortable. Keane scored the Blues' only goal in the 1-1 draw at Hill Dickinson.
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