Nathan Patterson is facing yet another spell on the sidelines for Everton after he suffered a knock against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Patterson, who only returned from an ankle injury before the World Cup break, was forced off just after the hour mark in Everton’s 4-1 defeat to Roberto De Zerbi’s side at Goodison Park on Tuesday night.
The 21-year-old will now undergo scans to discover the extent of the problem but Blues boss Frank Lampard fears the Scotland international could be absent for 'weeks' due to damage to his medial ligaments.
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"It's a knee injury and it could be weeks. Medial ligaments. We'll have to get it scanned but it looks like a medial [issue], which is not ideal,” the Everton boss said post-match.
Patterson, along with the rest of his Everton team-mates, endured a night to forget against the Seagulls. The young right-back was at fault for Brighton’s first-half opener.
The Scotland international misjudged Moises Caicedo’s cross-field pass, allowing Kaoru Mitoma to pounce, and after he cut inside, he fired past both Jordan Pickford and Conor Coady.
Evan Ferguson, Solly March and Pascal Gross then compounded Everton’s misery when they all scored in a six-minute spell during the start of the second-half. Demarai Gray did score a consolation goal for the Blues from the penalty spot, but it was too little too late for his side.
Speaking post-match, Everton manager Lampard said: “It was three goals which finished the game. It was mistakes by us, and against a team of Brighton’s quality, that finishes the game.”
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