This article is part of Football FanCast’s Injury News series, which considers the impact of the latest updates on players’ fitness.
Everton midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin is going to have to wait even longer for his return to action after the club announced he has had yet another setback on his injury.
What’s the word, then?
The Ivory Coast international looks set to miss another three months and his absence will just add to the woes the fans are currently enduring, with the Toffees inside the relegation zone on just seven points from eight games. Elsewhere, Marco Silva was reportedly handed the next three matches to save his job by Farhad Moshiri, and injuries as such will only make this task harder for the former Watford man.
The reports from the club stated that Gbamin had surgery on his right quadriceps muscle, which has kept him out of action since August. The 24-year-old returned to light training this month but had to have surgery after a setback in his rehabilitation process.
Everton have said that the midfielder will now be out until 2020, having already missed all of the Blues’ last eight games, having initially injured himself in training prior to the Aston Villa clash.
Before the 24-year-old endured this torrid luck, he did play in Everton’s first two games, coming off the bench against Crystal Palace in the opening match. However, it was against Watford where he proved his worth, earning a 7/10 rating in the 1-0 win.
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Schneiderlin to get more chances?
The injury will also mean that Morgan Schneiderlin – who continues to be a hugely unpopular player among the Goodison Park faithful having been criticised time and time again this term – could continue to occupy the centre-midfield role, which may cause more problems.
The 5 foot 11 man has struggled throughout the season, averaging a rating of 6.07 this Premier League campaign and has registered 4/10, 5/10 and 4/10 ratings in his past three outings.
The Frenchman has played six times in the league for Everton this campaign and has averaged an alarming 0.3 key passes per game and just 0.3 shots per game as well.
As shown in the games recorded by Transfermarkt, the former Manchester United man has been used as a defensive midfielder throughout this season. Although, considering the Toffees have conceded 13 league goals – the joint-fifth highest in the Premier League – questions have to be asked about what he is bringing to that role.
Unfortunately, Everton fans have not been able to witness Gbamin enough after all of these injuries, and now it is going to be even longer until Silva can deploy his summer signing on a regular basis. To make matters worse, it could mean more minutes for Schneiderlin, amidst his dreadful form.