Sean Dyche has offered an explanation for the defensive issues that have caused a reshuffle for the Newcastle United game
Everton are hopeful the injuries suffered by Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitalii Mykolenko are minor. The pair are both absent from the squad to face Newcastle United after picking up knocks over the past week.
The ECHO reported on Thursday that Branthwaite, who made his first senior appearance of the campaign in the win over Crystal Palace last weekend, was battling a quad issue. He has lost that fight.
Mykolenko is dealing with a strain that was collected in the Palace game and which, Sean Dyche said, had appeared to have been overcome before resurfacing as a problem at the end of the week.
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It is the fifth time Mykolenko has been forced out since April as Everton continue to face a crisis at full back, where Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson remain unavailable.
Patterson, who underwent hamstring surgery at the end of last season, has now played in three consecutive Under-21s matches, meaning all four could be available for the trip to Ipswich Town in a fortnight, the international break now coming at a good time for the Blues.
Speaking about the issues faced by Branthwaite and Mykolenko, Dyche said: “It was unfortunate, Myko took a knock last weekend. We thought it was a knock, it settled down and then turns out to be a small strain and it’s too much for today. Jarrad is similar, just a minor strain but it’s just come too quickly for the game.
“We know he had a period out and we were hopeful to get this game out of the way, for him I mean, and then obviously he’s got a couple of weeks to sort of get your body to balance out but that hasn’t happened.
“We’re confident with the injuries going forwards but not enough for today. What it means is an opportunity for others and it’s an opportunity for players to come into a side that has at this moment got a bit of momentum.”