An overview of the Everton squad status heading into the first of a daunting set of December games
Nathan Patterson will be available for Everton’s trip to Manchester United despite his red card on Monday night. The Scotland international is yet to feature for the first team this season after overcoming the hamstring injury that cost him the summer and the start of the campaign.
His search for match fitness saw him return to the Everton Under-21s on Monday night only for him to be sent off in the 1-0 Premier League Cup defeat to Watford.
The 23-year-old was given a second yellow card midway through the second half after he kicked the ball away after conceding a free-kick.
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The suspension that will follow does not apply to senior football, meaning he will be available for selection when Everton head to Olf Trafford on Sunday.
Whether Patterson – or the two senior players who also featured in Hertfordshire, Jake O’Brien and Armando Broja – will feature is questionable given their lack of involvement so far. Both Patterson and O’Brien are likely to retain their places on the bench given that, for all Everton have struggled across recent weeks, the club’s defence has held firm. The Blues have kept two clean sheets in their last three games.
Broja played 45 minutes on Monday night in his first taste of action in Royal Blue, the pre-planned experience providing an important stepping stone on his route to fitness after an achilles injury.
Sean Dyche said the 23-year-old’s progress had been good but that it will take time to properly integrate him to the group. With Broja expected to earn more minutes in the U21s as he is gradually exposed to competitive football, it would be a surprise to see him make his first Everton senior matchday squad at the weekend.
He is the closest to a return of a clutch of Blues players who have been sidelined with serious issues. Youssef Chermiti is another forward player whose return may help the club find a solution to its attacking problems but he only returned to training last week after a foot operation in the summer. James Garner (back) and Tim Iroegbunam (foot) are all still dealing with their longer-term injury problems. Seamus Coleman, who has been out with a hamstring problem, could well return before any of those players.
Dyche will have to weigh up several selection dilemmas as he seeks a positive result in Manchester. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has not scored since September and so faces competition from Beto, while Jesper Lindstrom is under pressure from Jack Harrison and Abdouaye Doucoure from Orel Mangala.
