INJURY BOOST

Head physio Mick Rathbone is hopeful Lee Carsley and Alan Stubbs will be fit to face Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

Carsley and Stubbs both limped out of the Blues’ 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers at Goodison last weekend.

Speaking exclusively to evertonTV, Baz is quick to quash any long-term injury fears over the duo.

“Lee (Carsley) had some discomfort around his hip and it tightened up during the game so unfortunately he had to come off," he said.

“I think he felt it in the warm-up. It has settled down really well and he has been running on it since. He has got a chance for the weekend but we will have to see how it goes and how it reacts.

“Alan (Stubbs) stretched for a ball early on and felt his groin. He made it to half-time but he could not carry on. It is only early days but we will see if we can get him fit for the weekend.”

There are currently a number of long-term absentees in David Moyes' squad notably James Vaughan, Tim Cahill and Iain Turner and Baz is delighted with the progress of the trio. 

“James is making good progress and the consultant shoulder specialist is very happy but these things take time,” explained Mick.
 
“Tim unfortunately injured the fractured side of his foot. He is making the good progress and has been running and doing exercises in the pool. We will have to see how the x-rays go in the next few weeks.

“Iain is doing really well. He is increasing his kicking - the kicking was a problem because he injured his hip. We want to get him back in training next week.”

Watch the full interview on evertonTV now.