Everton confirm expected Alex Iwobi return date as…

Everton confirm expected Alex Iwobi return date as Sean Dyche comments highlight problem

Here are your Everton evening headlines for Sunday, January 8.

Iwobi return date

Alex Iwobi is expected to be out for around three weeks after sustaining an ankle ligament injury during Friday's 3-1 FA Cup defeat at Manchester United.

The Nigerian international left the Old Trafford pitch on a stretcher early in the second half after being caught by Tyrell Malacia when chasing the ball, with fans fearing that a lengthy spell on the sidelines seemed a likely consequence.

Results of a scan on Saturday, however, revealed the extent of the damage was not as bad as first feared. Damage to the lateral ligament was confirmed, and Iwobi's rehabilitation programme will be managed conservatively by the club’s medical team at Finch Farm.

Should the three-week prognosis be accurate, then Iwobi will likely miss the next two Premier League fixtures against Southampton and West Ham United. The Everton midfielder took to social media shortly after the injury to send a message to fans. Alongside a picture of him receiving treatment, a caption said: “Appreciate the love, back soon.”

Read the full story here.

Sean Dyche comments

Even Henry VIII never made it to a seventh choice but with Farhad Moshiri having chopped and changed his way through six managers in as many years at Everton, the chaos and uncertainty that afflicts the club could be epitomised by reports linking them to Sean Dyche, a man whose image mocked up as the 16^th century tyrant king still adorns the sign of a pub in Burnley.

An article in the Mirror claims the Blues – along with fellow strugglers Southampton who only appointed their manager Nathan Jones in November and ironically come to Goodison Park next Saturday – are eyeing moves for Dyche if they decide to make a change in the dugout.

With just one win in their last 12 matches – since their 2-1 comeback win at Southampton on October 1 – Everton have plummeted into the Premier League relegation zone and been knocked out of both domestic cup competitions, ensuring that the Saints’ visit to Merseyside is surely a ‘must win’ fixture if they are to revive their flagging fortunes and start trying to rescue what is increasingly looking like a season of disaster with the Blues currently on course for the lowest equivalent points total in their history and a first relegation in 72 years. Still three weeks shy of the first anniversary of his appointment, Frank Lampard remains in charge but for all his talk that the club were heading for the drop when he arrived, he’s a smart enough man to realise that results have not improved over his tenure and the present situation appears as bleak as it’s ever been.

Curiously, Dyche of course was the man who for the majority of last season, was doing his utmost to send Everton down given that with Norwich City and Watford both looking doomed, he was manager of the Blues’ main relegation rivals Burnley. The Clarets spurned numerous opportunities throughout the campaign to dump Lampard’s side into the drop zone but when they came from behind late on to defeat them 3-2 in dramatic fashion at Turf Moor on April 6 in a fixture originally planned for Boxing Day when Rafael Benitez was still in charge but postponed due to Covid cases, the tide appeared to be turning, leaving many Evertonians with an impending sense of doom.

Read on here.

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