‘The Curious Case of the Missing Goalkeeper’ hardly sounds like best-seller material, though it is the predicament that Everton fans may have noticed in recent fixtures.
Swedish summer signing Robin Olsen, a loan signing from Serie A side AS Roma, was a notable absence on the bench for the Toffees’ most recent fixtures against Leeds and Burnley.
Brought in to provide meaningful competition for Everton’s no. 1 Jordan Pickford, Jonas Lossl was instead the man to deputise for Pickford in recent outings.
However, it has since been revealed that Everton are hoping to have Olsen fit and available for the upcoming clash with Chelsea with Olsen having been suffering from injury in recent weeks.
The Toffees will welcome 2000 fans back to Goodison Park in a Blues-versus-Blues clash between Everton and Frank Lampard’s Chelsea.
Whilst Olsen’s return is unlikely to alter first-team plans for the game, Ancelotti nonetheless confirmed Olsen’s situation and offered a welcome boost to the squad:
“Robin Olsen will be back this week,” the Blues boss said.
“He had a small problem, but he will be back this week”.
In further fitness tweaks to the state of the squad, Jean-Phillippe Gbamin is expected to return to first-team training at Finch Farm this week, whilst Ancelotti expressed an ‘optimistic tone’ over the future return of club captain Seamus Coleman to full fitness.
However, the club will be without Fabian Delph for the Chelsea game after suffering a hamstring injury against Burnley.
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After a mediocre draw against the Clarets, the return of Olsen is just one of many positives required to get the Toffees back to winning ways.
His presence may be the return needed to oust Pickford from his spot in a bid to boost defensive prowess, though his return is ultimately certain not to revolutionise the side’s performances.
