Everton have been handed some positive news regarding one of their injured senior players, who has staged his comeback whilst away on international duty, according to a recent report.
Which Everton players are injured?
The Toffees currently have Seamus Coleman (knee), Dele Alli (groin) and Andre Gomes (calf) all out on the sidelines with their own respective injuries, and as it stands, it is unknown when any of the trio are set to return having been out for a while.
The Merseyside outfit have had several members of their squad away representing their nations over the past fortnight, including Jordan Pickford with England, Amadou Onana with Belgium and Vitaliy Mykolenko with Ukraine, and there was another who still travelled despite carrying a problem of his own.
At Goodison, Idrissa Gueye was due to start in the last Premier League 3-0 victory over Bournemouth, but having sustained a knock during the warm-up, he ended up pulling out of the line-up, with this issue being one that Sean Dyche was already aware of.
The Senegalese central midfielder has been a regular feature this season having started seven out of the opening eight games in the top-flight (WhoScored – Gueye statistics), so the fact he couldn’t participate will have caused concern, though there has now been some positive news surrounding the 34-year-old.
Idrissa Gueye injury update
According to the Liverpool Echo who have shared an injury update on Idrissa Gueye, Everton are likely set to welcome the veteran back to their squad this weekend for the Merseyside derby at Anfield:
“Idrissa Gueye has handed Everton manager Sean Dyche a potential selection boost ahead of Saturday’s game against Liverpool after returning to action with Senegal. The midfielder’s place against the Cherries was taken by Amadou Onana but Gueye was back on the pitch at Lens’ Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Monday night.”
How good is Idrissa Gueye?
According to journalist Josh Bunting, Gueye is an “excellent” member of Everton’s squad, and considering the positive impact he was having prior to his absence in the last fixture, it will be a huge boost if he was to return for the highly-anticipated encounter on Saturday.
The Dakar native currently ranks in the 97th percentile for tackles by players in his position so loves to get stuck in and win back possession for his team (FBRef – Gueye statistics), and when he does retrieve the ball he’s calm and composed, recording an 88.2% pass success rate this term, which is higher than any other member of the squad (WhoScored – Everton statistics).
Dyche’s £80k-per-week earner (Everton salaries), is also a versatile operator having previously been deployed in four out of the five positions in the midfield (Transfermarkt – Gueye statistics), so there’s no doubt that the club’s chances of achieving success will only increase with Gueye back in the side, hopefully for the boss, starting this weekend.
