Everton manager Sean Dyche has provided an update on striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s fitness ahead of the second game week in the Premier League.
The Englishman missed out on Everton’s first league game against Fulham as he was deemed to not be fully up to speed. He is being carefully managed by those at Everton as he recovers from previous injuries.
Calvert-Lewin did feature after a long time on May 5 in the Toffee’s last preseason game against Sporting Lisbon, in which he played the full 90 minutes and also scored the game’s only goal from the spot.
But as previously mentioned, he did not feature against Fulham last weekend. But he did reportedly feature in a behind-closed-doors training game against Manchester United earlier this week.
It now looks as though the Everton fans can now expect to see the 26-year-old return back to the first squad sooner rather than later.
Dyche revealed that the striker is in contention to return to the squad for their game on Sunday at Villa Park. The manager said: “On his [Calvert-Lewin] side, he’s in good shape.
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Dyche also mentioned the training game, saying: “He managed to get the end part of his rehab done with 90 minutes and is in good shape and certainly comes into the subject of thinking [for the game against Villa].”
Calvert-Lewin has been available for selection for only 36 games over the last two seasons for the Toffees. This worrying statistic provides a better explanation of why Everton have struggled massively in front of the goal and have been threatened by relegation as a result for the past two seasons.
The club have signed Arnaut Danjuma and Youssef Chermiti to improve the forward line and help provide goals from more areas on the pitch. They are also reportedly interested in striker Che Adams.
But with Danjuma and in-form Dwight McNeil out injured, Dyche would likely be hoping for Calvert-Lewin to come back and stay fit to provide him with a solid option at the top of the frontline.
Neal Maupay started as the number 9 against Fulham but failed to impress with his performance. The Frenchman has failed to make a real impact since arriving from Brighton. Calvert-Lewin is likely to be preferred over Maupay if he returns back to full fitness.
