Everton are in action once again this afternoon with a home clash against Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

The Toffees will be desperate for a positive result in this game as they have lost their three previous league outings.

What’s the news?

Speaking in his latest press conference, Everton manager Frank Lampard had some positive news regarding the fitness situation of one player in particular who has been a revelation at Goodison Park.

Lampard revealed that full-back Nathan Patterson has been training with the rest of his team-mates and could be set to return before the end of October, saying: “He’s progressing. He’s training with us and will be fit hopefully for next week.”

Crucial for Everton

The Scotsman, who has been described by David Weir as “outstanding” in the past, has been out of action since September with an ankle injury he picked up while away on international duty. Prior to that, the 21-year-old has completed the full 90 minutes in each of Everton’s opening seven league games of the season, which shows just how important he is to Lampard.

His performances across those games has earned him a respectable season rating of 6.92/10 from WhoScored, which makes him the second-highest rated outfield player at the Merseyside club behind James Tarkowski (6.99/10).

In addition, Patterson has the third-highest combined total of tackles and interceptions (38) at Everton for this season, and the highest number of pressures in the defensive third of the pitch (75). This makes it easy to see how much of a miss he has been for the team, who have lost three of the four games he has sat out through injury.

Now that Lampard has shared this positive update about the defender’s potential return to action, this will surely be great news for everyone at the club.

Moving forward, the Toffees manager and fans will be hoping that their side can avoid another defeat against Palace today and then see Patterson back in action, ideally without any recurrence of his recent injury setback.