Everton's Mason Holgate in action with Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi
Mason Holgate has revealed that he should be available to be in the Everton squad next week.
The Lowdown: Knee injury
Holgate has been out of action since August with a knee injury, after starting the Goodison Park outfit’s first four games of the Premier League season (Transfermarkt).
He is one of five first team players currently on the treatment table, including fellow central defenders Ben Godfrey and Yerry Mina, leaving Frank Lampard very short of depth behind the reliable partnership of James Tarkowski and Conor Coady.
The Latest: In training
Speaking on Everton Live (via Everton’s website), Holgate shared that he has returned to light training, adding that he should be available to make the squad soon:
“I’m good. I trained yesterday, obviously it was a lighter session with it being the day before a game, so hopefully I’ll get another week of training in and I should be available to in the squad next week, hopefully.”
The Verdict: Boost
It will certainly be a boost for Frank Lampard and his squad to have Holgate back soon, especially with the injuries to both Godfrey and Mina.
Coady and Tarkowski have formed a formidable partnership in his absence, with the team conceding just nine goals in the top flight, the joint fewest. However, Holgate, labelled ‘brilliant‘ for his form last season by Peter Crouch, was also performing well before his injury, ranking sixth-best among his teammates in the division so far this term.
The game at Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend will likely come too soon for him, but the Englishman could now target fixtures against Newcastle United and Crystal Palace for his potential return, which will certainly give the Toffees a boost in terms of their squad depth.
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