Roberto Martinez is hoping to welcome Tom Cleverley back into the squad for the game against Aston Villa on Saturday.
The midfielder has been out of action since the end of August after limping off against Tottenham Hotspur.
Martinez is optimistic that the 26-year-old could return against his former club at Goodison:
“Tom is fully fit now,” he told evertontv. “He had a little bit of a cold over the weekend that stopped him from training but he is back now and it is about making sure he gets in enough work in order to be considered 100 per cent.”
“He is not far away from being available for the squad.”
Cleverley’s arrival at Goodison Park was met with a lot of scepticism due to a somewhat unfair portrayal of him in the media, but his early season form for the Blues impressed Evertonians, who admired his endeavour and footballing intelligence.
There is also good news concerning Leighton Baines after the left-back came through a friendly against Preston scoring one and assisting another in the 4-3 win, and Martinez is confident the 30-year-old’s own return to the first team is not too far away.
“The break has been exactly what Leighton needed,” the Boss revealed. “He has been able to have contact with the football and develop that match fitness that he needs.
“We need to be cautious because it was a re-injury, and he has been side-lined for a long period of time. We will give him as much time as we can but we are in a positive period. A lot of good work has been put in, he had the behind-closed-doors game and every day in training is another step towards getting him back to full fitness and being available.
“I think it is too early to tell when that moment will be when he can be reintroduced back into the team but certainly every day is a step towards that.”
Martinez also revealed that both Tyias Browning and Brendan Galloway could miss the Villa game with minor knocks after the pair sat out England Under-21 duty.
However, the boss revealed that their withdrawal was more of a precautionary measure.
“Tyias and Brendan picked up knocks and they are things we are going to assess,” he added. “They weren’t in 100 per cent condition when they joined up with the Under-21s, and we have a very good relationship with England.
“It was important that we could look after the players, rather than risking potential problems.
“They have been working on individual programmes for the last two or three days but it is too early to tell if they are going to be available or not.”
With Brendan Galloway struggling, Bryan Oviedo injured and Leighton Baines far from full fitness, it’ll be interesting to see who is in the left-back slot as Everton look to beat Aston Villa on Saturday.
