Dominic Calvert-Lewin could be involved in the matchday squad for Everton’s next game.
The 26-year-old has been out of action since the first tie of Sean Dyche’s reign, when he played the opening hour of the early February win over Arsenal. He has been making progress in recent weeks and the Blues boss said he could be in contention for the game against Crystal Palace.
Should he be in a position to return it will be a significant boost to a side that is struggling under the pressure of injuries and the suspension to Abdoulaye Doucoure.
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Club captain Seamus Coleman and central midfielder Amadou Onana missed out on the defeat to Fulham due to hamstring and groin issues respectively. Dyche would not give a timeframe for the recovery of either player. He did suggest their absences, coupled with Doucoure serving the second game of his three match ban for his red card against Tottenham Hotspur, were behind his decision to line up 4-4-2 against Fulham. Everton started poorly and fell a goal behind before equalising just minutes after Dyche changed to 4-5-1.
Asked about the extent of his selection issues after a match in which Everton went on to lose 3-1, he said: “Dom is going well, which is a positive. He will be back, hopefully, in the thinking this week as long as the week goes well. Ama had to settle a situation down. Seamus [is out] with his hamstring so we will see how quickly that settles and Doucs has got one more game left. They have been important players but my point when I came here was about squad mentality and everyone wants to come and ask me why they are not playing, well when you get your chance you have got to go and play.”
On the potential return of Calvert-Lewin, he added: “We will see. He’s had a very good week this week. We want him to have another very good week next week and we will see how he is feeling.”
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