Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed Abdoulaye Doucoure is fully fit and in contention for Sunday’s Premier League clash at West Ham United (4.30pm BST) – but James Rodriguez will miss the match at London Stadium.
Colombian playmaker James hurt his calf in the pre-match warm-up ahead of last weekend’s game against Aston Villa. Ancelotti says James will resume training at USM Finch Farm at the start of next week.
Doucoure’s availability represents a significant boost for Everton, however.
The Frenchman returned to First-Team training this week having recovered from a foot injury sustained in the Blues’ 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on 4 March.
Aside from James, Jean-Philippe Gbamin is Everton's other only absentee for the West Ham game. The Ivorian will miss the remainder of the campaign with a knee injury.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, Ancelotti said: "For this weekend, we have Doucoure back.
"After the injury that he had, he has recovered well.
"He trained with the team and he is available. We will not have James [available].
"He had a little problem in the warm-up before the game against Aston Villa. He didn’t train this week with the team, he trained alone.
"It is a little problem. He is starting his proper rehab and he is going to train at the start of next week."
Doucoure has been unable to feature in Everton's past eight matches and Ancelotti admits the Blues have missed his influential presence.
The Italian boss is confident the powerhouse midfielder can play a key role as Everton aim to reignite their push for European qualification.
"It is true, he is one of the most important players," Ancelotti added.
"With Doucoure, we have had some fantastic results, without him we had more problems.
"It is really important [to have him back] because he showed fantastic quality. He has helped the team a lot when he has played. It was a great surprise to have this kind of player.
"He was a really good signing and I hope he can show his quality in these few games we have before the end of the season.
"He put a lot of energy in midfield and to have him back for the next game will be really important."
