Frank Lampard has revealed Nathan Patterson will return to Everton's matchday squad for Saturday's Premier League meeting with Fulham.
The Blues will be looking to build on last weekend's comprehensive victory over Crystal Palace and will travel to Craven Cottage with one of their standout performers of the current season. Indeed, Patterson caught the eye during Everton's opening seven league fixtures but has been sidelined since September due to an ankle injury sustained while in international action for Scotland.
Patterson has been training over the last week and is now ready to be involved in the squad at the weekend, representing a major boost for the Toffees. Offering an update on the young defender on Thursday afternoon, Lampard told reporters: "Patterson is back in the squad for this weekend.
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"We haven't really had too many periods of a clean bill of health, and most teams don't, but we've had multiple important players out at times. To try and get consistency in selection and form, fitness is a crucial thing."
In the absence of the 21-year-old, Seamus Coleman has slotted back into the Everton defence and led by example alongside Conor Coady, James Tarkowski and Vitalii Mykolenko. Recent performances by the Blues' skipper may well have left Lampard with a selection dilemma as Patterson edges closer to first-team action, though this is a scenario he has fully welcomed.
"It's a really good headache and exactly what we wanted," explained the 44-year-old.
Lampard added: "Nathan Patterson has been really good this season until he got his unfortunate injury. It has allowed Seamus to come in and find fitness, which peaked last weekend against Crystal Palace and [Wilfried] Zaha - one of the hardest players to play against in that position. It is a really healthy competition for two lads: one who has been here a long time and one who is coming through. They get on very well, so I'm more than happy with that."
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