Wednesday 25 November 2009, 09:39
by Giulia Bould @YourEverton
The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do not necessarily reflect the views of Everton.
EVERTON captain Phil Neville has been ruled out for a further three weeks as David Moyes injury list grows longer.
Everton captian Phil Neville has undergone an operation to repair a tear in the cartilage of the knee he injured at Fulham in September.
The 32-year-old appeared to be on the verge of making a first-team comeback but now faces possibly another three weeks on the sidelines.
Everton manager David Moyes said: “He has a bit of a cartilage tear, which we knew about, but the surgeon didn’t want to operate [at the time of the injury] as he didn’t think it was needed.
“It looks as if the tear has got slightly bigger so we feel now we have to go in and do something about it.
“The surgeon thought it would heal by itself, which was the correct decision, but now it has got bigger it is starting to cause him a few problems.
“We were probably expecting Phil to have maybe started against Manchester United (last Saturday), Hull tomorrow or maybe Liverpool (this Sunday).
“There was an outside chance because he had been training with us for five or six days but in the end I wouldn’t have picked him against United because he wasn’t physically fit enough.
“It now looks like he is going to be out for another two or three weeks.”
With Phil Jagielka, Mikel Arteta, Victor Anichebe, James Vaughan and Leon Osman all currently injured and Steven Pienaar only just returning to fitness after two months out.
YAKUBU is finally ready to hit the goal trail again tonight by notching a second strike against Hull in a frustrating season for the Nigerian.
The muscular hitman scored on his return from a lengthy lay-off during Everton’s 4-0 Carling Cup victory at the KC stadium in September.
He looked sharp in the second half of the Blues’ defeat against Manchester United on Saturday, and is close to recapturing his best, according to team-mate Leighton Baines.
The full-back, who also impressed at Old Trafford, said: “Yak has looked like his sharpness is coming back. He had a horrible injury but there are signs he is ready to start doing what he does best again.
“Players like him never lose that ability to score. He is immense and you’d back him in front of goal every time.
“It meant a lot to him to score against Hull and he showed that. We’re looking forward to having him firing on all cylinders again.”
The Nigerian ran to embrace physio Mick Rathbone after his goal against Hull, in recognition of the part he played in healing his horror-Achilles tendon injury.
Now David Moyes could lend him a start partnering Louis Saha in attack tonight, with his formation options further reduced by injury.
Phil Neville has suffered another setback in his bid to return from knee damage, and was understood to have had a minor operation yesterday.
It is likely to add another three weeks to the captain’s proposed comeback time.
And fellow injured midfielder Leon Osman admits he must also be patient as he returns from a foot injury.
The skilful midfielder is desperate to get back into action but realises he must exercise caution and manage his return carefully.
He said: “It's slow progress and it's a bone injury which doesn’t heal like muscle injuries or bruises.
“They originally said I would be out for about four weeks and then a specialist said six weeks.
“I'm a week under that and I am finally starting to feel like I am making progress.”
- Latest News
- Most Popular
Wigan
Everton
Stoke
