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Garner ‘Raring To Go’ After Injury Return

James Garner is determined to impress after recovering from his long-term injury troubles, and wants to push for a starting place in Sean Dyche's team.

The Everton midfielder only recently returned to First-Team action after being sidelined since November with a back injury.

Garner has been utilised as a substitute in the Blues’ last two fixtures, as well as featuring for the England Under-21s in their two most recent games.

Speaking to evertontv after defeat to Manchester United, Garner wants to keep pushing for a start in Sean Dyche’s team.

I’m getting stronger every week, and training every day, which helps,” he said. “The last two games, I’ve come one, so I’m getting stronger each week and I’m just pushing now for that start.

“I had a little bit of a stress fracture, and I was out for three months or so. I’ve never had an injury like that, so for me it was tough.

“Like I say, I’ve never been injured, so not being able to play and train was tough. I’m back fit now and I’m raring to go."

Despite a difficult outing for the Blues on Saturday afternoon, Garner believes Everton have improved since Sean Dyche took charge of the Toffees.

“It’s been pretty refreshing, to be fair,” he acknowledged, when speaking about the manager's impact at the Club. “He’s brought in some new ideas and a new way of playing, and I think you can see with some of the results we’ve been getting.

“We’ve been going toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the league. Today was obviously a tough day, but overall, it’s been good.

“I spoke to him a little bit, but I’ve not really had that many chats with him. He’s watched me a lot and so did the staff, so hopefully they know I’m a decent player and that I can add value to the team.”

On Saturday’s loss, Garner admitted that it was a disappointing result, but that the team are keen to bounce back.

“It’s tough to take,” he said. “They were two goals we could’ve avoided. Obviously, the second one was a mistake. Overall, a bit of a disappointing day.

“It’s a bit of a reality check, really. We’ve been going toe-to-toe with some of the top teams, and today we just weren’t at our best. We’ve been training very well throughout the week, so we need to keep at it, and go again.”