Everton defender Nathan Patterson faces a lengthy stint on the sidelines after sustaining an injury blow whilst on international duty with Scotland, according to The Times’ Paul Joyce.

The Lowdown: Patterson’s injury

The 20-year-old has risen to prominence at Goodison Park this season after becoming Frank Lampard’s first-choice option at right-back. As a result, the youngster continues to play a big part for his national team, having made his Scotland debut last summer.

However, during the Tartan Army's 3-0 victory over Ukraine last Wednesday, Patterson was forced off the pitch with an injury after just 26 minutes of play.

The Latest: Patterson injury timeline

According to Joyce’s report for The Times, Patterson is set to be sidelined for six weeks as a result of his knee injury.

That length of time would see the full-back ruled out of action until the first week of November, returning just days before Everton's final fixture of the first half of the Premier League season.

Consequently, it would see Patterson missing seven games in total.

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The Verdict: Big loss

Having earned statistical comparisons to legendary Everton right-back Seamus Coleman, it is easy to see why Lampard has placed such trust in the 20-year-old.

As per FBRef, compared with positional peers across Europe over the past year, the Scotland gem ranks in the 96th percentile for tackles, the 93rd percentile for pressures and the 81st percentile for dribbles completed.

As a result, Patterson has been hailed as ‘outstanding’ by journalist Josh Bunting for the start that he has made to his first full season with the Toffees, with WhoScored citing him as the squad's second highest-rated outfield player so far in 2022/23.

Therefore, his absence is sure to come as a blow to Lampard and Everton, at time when they had already been dealing with several other defensive injuries.