Following Everton’s encouraging 1-0 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion, their celebrations were tainted by the injuries to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Orel Mangala.

David Moyes stated there was ‘genuine concern’ for both players which will potentially see the duo miss a chunk of the remaining games in the season.

With the Blues picking up back-to-back league wins for the first time this season, this news is very ill-timed and alternative options will be needed.

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Prior to the arrival of Mangala on August's transfer deadline day, Tim Iroegbunam was a feature in the midfield of previous manager, Sean Dyche.

But after suffering a foot injury in October, the central midfielder has not made an appearance since the 0-0 draw against Newcastle United at Goodison Park.

Even though a steady return will be needed for Iroegbunam, the games in which he has featured highlight why the Toffees can turn to him as a potential replacement for the injured 26-year-old Mangala.

Mangala’s role in the midfield has both its attacking and defensive importance, with Everton building attacks on his interceptions and line breaking passes into the middle and final third.

In this respect the Belgian will be missed, but his attacking output can be replicated by Iroegbunam, albeit in a different manner.

According to FBref, Iroegbunam averages 2.11 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes, compared to Mangala who averages at 1.72.

But out of the six league games the Englishman featured in, Everton only scored in half of them.

Considering Iroegbunam was able to create opportunities for players to shoot in a team that struggled to find the net, there are encouraging signs that he will be able to do this under the re-energised Moyes' Everton.

Another stat that highlights Iroegbunam’s ability to step in is his attacking carries. Having played a lesser amount of games compared to Mangala, the young midfielder has still carried the ball into the final third seven times according to FBref, this being one time more than the Belgian.

But it must be noted Mangala has completed 50 passes into the final third as compared to Iroegbunam, who only conducted eight.

The difference between the two is clear, while Mangala sits deeper and plays the ball into the attack, Iroegbunam prefers to carry the ball and become part of it.

While this approach could leave danger on the counter-attack, should Moyes opt to start with the 21-year-old, he could add another element to Everton’s attacking approach.

James Garner is another name the Blues can rely on and with good reason. On paper he is the low risk option and is much more similar to Mangala, but if there was to be healthy competition between Garner and Iroegbunam, this could spell good fortunes for the Everton midfield.