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Everton: Sean Dyche warned not to risk ‘touch-and-go’ Calvert-Lewin for Merseyside derby

Everton: Sean Dyche warned not to risk 'touch-and-go' Calvert-Lewin for Merseyside derby - Everton News

Sky Sports contributor and injury expert Ben Dinnery has claimed that Sean Dyche may be wise not to risk Dominic Calvert-Lewin after being rated ‘touch-and-go’ ahead of the Merseyside derby.

The Lowdown: Injury woes

Calvert-Lewin has had numerous injury problems throughout his career, and this season has been no different, as he’s only featured in 11 Premier League matches in the 2022/23 campaign so far.

This has severely impacted his goalscoring numbers, having only scored once for Everton in all competitions to date with only three months of the season remaining.

The 25-year-old was taken off during their last league game against Arsenal and manager Dyche claimed that it was a precautionary measure.

The Latest: ‘Touch-and-go’

Speaking on Premier FPL Injuries, Dinnery gave his take on the striker’s availability for the Merseyside derby based on Dyche’s recent comments.

He stated: “Dominic Calvert-Lewin is touch-and-go for the Merseyside derby. I say touch-and-go – touch-and-go at best, Sean Dyche said.

“It was a hamstring issue that he came off with against Arsenal. With some players, you may want to take that risk, but given the player’s injury history over the last 18 months, the slightest worry or concern with him, then you keep him out of that lineup.”

The Verdict: Limited options

We believe that Everton’s striking options, even with Calvert-Lewin, are fairly limited, but this potential injury blow, the situation could be even worse.

If the 25-year-old was to be unavailable for selection against Liverpool, Dyche would only have Neal Maupay and Ellis Simms as natural options up front.

Maupay has scored just once all season and Simms has only played three Premier League matches in his entire career – with two of those coming fairly recently after being recalled from his loan spell at Sunderland.

Our view is that there is not exactly a promising variety of options in the striker position, and this could have a long-term impact on Everton’s season.

Having said that, in their 1-0 win against Arsenal, their winning goal came from a set piece scored by James Tarkowski, so perhaps Dyche’s side will take a similar approach in terms of how they look to trouble Liverpool.

After all, that victory came against the league leaders, so they may fancy their chances against an out-of-sorts Liverpool on Monda amid their poor form and underwhelming season.

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