Frank Lampard is intent on playing it "smart" with Dominic Calvert-Lewin as he attempts to manage the striker's comeback from injury.
The 25-year-old is yet to play a game for Everton this season after suffering a knee injury just days before the opening match against Chelsea. It is the latest injury ordeal for Calvert-Lewin, who was plagued by issues last season before returning and scoring the goal that secured Everton's Premier League survival.
He now looks unlikely to start against Southampton on Saturday, with Lampard saying ahead of the game: "It’s not playing it safe, it’s playing it with due care."
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It had been hoped Calvert-Lewin would return to the matchday squad against West Ham United but he missed out as a precaution because Lampard wanted to give him the international break to continue his preparation. A fortnight later, it remains unclear whether he will be involved against Southampton with it now being considered whether the following game, against Manchester United, may be more suitable for his comeback.
Explaining his thought process on the striker, who Lampard continues to speak highly of, the Blues boss said: "It’s more making sure that Dominic is in the best condition. We have had a look at his plan and looked at some of his training to make sure he is in the best possible shape. I need to think: 'Is he ready to start again? Should he be coming on?' It’s all worse off the back of an injury and it was a difficult little injury that he had. It’s not playing it safe, it’s playing it with due care. My feeling is that he may be all right for the weekend but, with another week, we will get him even stronger."
Lampard is approaching the next eight Premier League games as a mini-season before the domestic season breaks for the World Cup in mid-November. His target is to simply to get as many points as possible during that period, which also includes the Carabao Cup trip to Bournemouth. When it comes to Calvert-Lewin, it is not just to oversee his return to the first team - it is to do it in a way in which he can play the biggest possible role between now and the World Cup. Regardless of the decision he makes over his inclusion on Saturday, he said: "I am pretty confident that he will be ready and firing for next week and then the important thing is: 'Can we keep him fit for the next eight games as a starting block and see what we can get out of him?'"
Everton's coaching team was impressed with the condition Calvert-Lewin returned for pre-season in and his work to build on that foundation during the club's US tour. The intention is for him to reach that level of fitness again and Lampard has acknowledged he may be playing it cautious while Calvert-Lewin builds for his return, adding he wants to be "smart" on the issue.
He said handling Calvert-Lewin's comeback was an "open conversation" between the player, management and medical department and while Lampard has not spoken to him about whether "confidence" was an issue, he said he would understand if it was. He does feel the introduction of Neal Maupay, whose first goal for the club secured the win over West Ham United, has given him more freedom to be cautious in his approach to Calvert-Lewin's first-team return.
He said: "I just want him back soon and he wants to be back soon too... The good news for us is that Neal came in and has played well in a couple of games. He’s given us that other option and that has affected my decision. If Neal wasn’t here, maybe I would have pushed him but the reality for Dominic himself is… he was a machine in pre-season. He was looking so strong in training in America and then he got injured before Chelsea. I just want to get him back to that level where he was a machine, where he looked like the Dominic we all want to see."
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