Dominic Calvert-Lewin injury update as Everton face…

Dominic Calvert-Lewin injury update as Everton face nervous wait

Everton are set to learn the extent of injuries suffered by three key players in a series of scans ahead of a crucial week for the club.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Amadou Onana are all set to undergo tests today to establish the nature and severity of knocks they picked up in and around the defeat to Leicester City. All three would be high in Frank Lampard's thinking for what is an important final Premier League game at Bournemouth before the World Cup break.

Each player also has World Cup ambitions - though Lampard appeared hopeful on Saturday night that Onana's issue was minor and that Gueye's would not be serious. He was unsure on Calvert-Lewin's predicament after the striker limped down the Goodison Park tunnel just after the hour mark.

Calvert-Lewin was already facing a challenge to force his way into Gareth Southgate's England squad for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. His performance at home to Crystal Palace showcased his ability and suggested he was returning to form but the sight of him departing the pitch early at the weekend caused dismay at Everton. The 25-year-old has endured rotten luck with injuries, missing the start of this campaign with what Lampard described as a "freak" knee issue suffered at the end of a pre-season in which he was looking close to his best. That followed the issues that severely disrupted him last season, hampering his ability to help Everton escape relegation until he returned for the final games and scored the diving header that saved the Blues.

Lampard had expressed concern over a lack of forward options following the sale of Richarlison in the summer and, while he later added Neal Maupay and Dwight McNeil, significant pressure remained on Calvert-Lewin going into the season. His return has been carefully managed at Finch Farm and his hamstring issue, serious or not, will only add to concerns over his durability. With Everton struggling to create and score goals in recent weeks the priority in January was already to explore ways to strengthen the Blues' attacking options and a further setback to Calvert-Lewin would only increase that work, though should he miss out on Qatar the six week break will allow recovery work without the pressure of games.

Gueye and Onana are likely to be called into their nations' World Cup squads, Senegal and Belgium respectively. Lampard said Onana, who came off in the second half at Leicester, had carried a knock into the game and was only thought to have a sprained ankle. He was hopeful Gueye's injury was not serious, pointing to him playing on for half an hour with his quad issue before being replaced at half time. Lampard said: "Gana's is a sensation at the top of his quad so he will have a scan on Monday. Dominic's is a hamstring scan on Monday and Onana's is his ankle, he will have a scan on Monday."

When questioned whether the issues would have an impact on their World Cup hopes he added: "They feel like they are the lighter end of muscular injuries. Because Gana did his halfway through the first half, he was playing well to be fair and then came off at half-time, so he continued, so that is a sign hopefully that it is not a big one for him. With Dominic, I don't know, I don't want to jump that one because I don't know enough about it but he felt something in his hamstring. And then with Amadou no, because I think it was just more of a sprained ankle which he actually had in training yesterday. He got a couple of knocks that he suffered in the game and had to come off for it."

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