Everton could be without six first team players for Southampton trip

Everton have emerged from the injury and illness crisis that blighted the start of the season but still have issues in their squad. Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dwight McNeil entered the final days of this week with questions hanging over their fitness.

Sean Dyche said McNeil had a chance of being available for the trip to Southampton, the scene of his first competitive goal for the Blues two years ago,

The 24-year-old limped off during the final stages of the draw with Fulham last weekend and was absent from a training day at Goodison Park on Thursday while he worked with the physio.

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Doucoure, who also started the match last Saturday, came out of that game with a minor injury in the groin area but was expected to have overcome it in time for the trip to St Mary’s.

Match fitness is the big issue in the squad now that several key players have returned from injury absences.

Jarrad Branthwaite, Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson were all named on the bench for Fulham, Branthwaite making it onto the pitch for the final minutes. Whether the centre back is brought into the side, and whether Dyche looks to give one of his specialist right backs a chance, are both dilemmas facing him this week. The hope is James Tarkowski is through the worst of the minor injuries that he has played with in the early weeks.

There are several longer term issues being managed in the camp though. Of those, Armando Broja is the closest to a return. The striker, who joined on loan from Chelsea on transfer deadline day, is yet to kick a ball for Everton due to the achilles problem he arrived with. But while he continues to work with the sports science team he could potentially link back up with the first team squad next week to begin the next stage of his path to the matchday squad.

Dyche said ahead of the trip to Southampton that James Garner is due to miss at least the next month with the back injury he suffered during the last international break, though there is a belief it is not linked to the stress fracture that kept him out for several months in his first season at Everton.

Meanwhile, Tim Iroegbunam and Youssef Chermiti also face extended time out, Iroegbunam with a foot injury suffered last month and Chermiti with a foot injury that required surgery after a promising start to pre-season.