Sky Sports news is reporting that Everton captain Phil Neville faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines at Everton, following a challenge by midfield Dickson Etuhu during Sunday’s defeat to Fulham. The tackle has left the former England and Manchester United man with a severe gash to his knee, but worse still is the news that Everton head physio Mick Rathbone confirmed,
“An MRI scan on Monday morning has confirmed our fears and it has revealed that Phil has damaged ligaments at the back of his knee,”
“He will now rest it for 48 hours to allow the swelling to go down and he will then see a specialist in London before a decision is made on how best to manage the injury.
“It’s too early to estimate length of absence, but I fear he is certainly facing a lengthy lay-off.”
With Everton suffering a dismal start to the season, with only one win in four games and that given to them by a last minute Leighton Baines penalty at home to Wigan, the injury could not have come at a worse possible time for Blues boss David Moyes, who now will have to do without Neville, as well as long term injury concerns Phil Jagielka and Mikel Arteta. There was better news for Moyes however with the revelation that their long term injured striker Yakubu is looking to return to the first team fold sooner rather than later.
Everton boss Moyes was unhappy that Etuhu’s challenge on his captain was not sanctioned properly by the official during Sunday’s game with the Everton manager believing that Etuhu should have at least been penalised and booked for his aggressive lunge to win the ball from the Everton man.
With Moyes admitting on local radio at the weekend that his current squad was smaller than last season, even with the recent arrivals of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Johnny Heitinga, the injury to Neville could not come at a worse time for the beleaguered Everton boss who now must try and navigate his team away from the bottom of the Premier League table without the services of his captain and leader.
So are Everton doomed without Neville’s driving force and experience in midfield? Is Neville’s loss one too many for a club that is already racked with injuries to its best players and struggling at the foot of the table? Or will Moyes turn it around as he has done so in the past and lead Everton to the upper reaches of the Premier League in time?
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