The centre-back discussed the injury issues that have undermined his start to the season
James Tarkowski has opened up on the challenge of dealing with rare injury issues during the summer. The Everton centre-back missed part of pre-season with a glute injury and has been dealing with a back problem through the opening weeks of the campaign.
That latter issue led to him being kept out of the Carabao Cup game with Southampton but, despite the setbacks, he has managed to maintain his record of starting every Premier League match since his move to Merseyside.
Tarkowski has been playing through a minor concern that has been carefully managed in order to ensure he has remained available amid a defensive crisis. His presence has been particularly valuable given the issues around him, with Jarrad Branthwaite, Nathan Patterson, Seamus Coleman and Vitalii Mykolenko among those to have missed games through injury already.
It has not been easy, Tarkowski conceded in an interview with club media before the draw with Newcastle United, in which he played a role in his side’s first clean sheet in the league, though conceded a penalty that was saved by Jordan Pickford.
The first setback of his summer was the glute problem that led to the 31-year-old returning early to the UK from the squad’s training camp in Ireland.
Tarkowski said: “It was a frustrating one in pre-season. It was the first Gaffer’s Day I’ve missed since I’ve known him [manager Sean Dyche, who he also played under at Burnley] – that’s how unusual it was for me.
“It’s been about managing load between games to get back up to full speed for me, which is difficult because I’m someone who likes to be out on the grass all of the time and I really don’t like missing training sessions, so I’ve had to accept that slower pace than I like.”
The separate back issue experienced by Tarkowski has been a further source of frustration. The issue has been less about pain and more about how it has caused him to manage training, hindering efforts to build and maintain his fitness levels.
Tarkowski, who has been involved in first-team training at Finch Farm during the first week of the international break, said: “I’ve not been playing in absolute agony, it’s just hindered my fitness levels a little bit and not being able to train all the time and be on the grass all the time, which doesn’t help when it comes to a weekend.
“It’s not ideal but some players have probably done it for a number of years over their careers because they have to manage injuries. I’ve never been through it before and it’s the first time I’ve had to do it.
“Ultimately, I’ll do whatever I can to be on the pitch, so that’s what I’ve done and I’m getting there now. I’m feeling better all of the time and I’ve been training more than I was in the first few weeks of the season.”