David Moyes was speaking after his Everton side earned their second win over Newcastle in the space of five days
David Moyes and Jack Grealish (Photo by Tony McArdle - Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images)
David Moyes and Jack Grealish (Photo by Tony McArdle - Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images)
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David Moyes claims he doesn’t know whether Jack Grealish will be available for Coventry City’s visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium on Friday after Everton won back-to-back games over Newcastle United without him.
The Blues announced before their 3-1 Carabao Cup victory against the Magpies on Thursday that Grealish had been omitted for a club disciplinary matter with it understood that the on-loan Manchester City player had failed to turn up for a scheduled training session. Grealish remained out for the 1-0 success at St James’ Park on Monday night and after the game, Moyes was asked about the matter.
The Everton manager said: “He’s just not available yet.”
Quizzed as to whether the 31-year-old would be back for when Frank Lampard’s newly promoted team come to the banks of the Mersey for the Blues next fixture, Moyes said: “I don’t know yet.”
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When questioned whether there was a chance of Grealish being brought back into the fold on a longer-term basis, the 63-year-old added: “Of course there is, yes.”
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One player who did return for Everton was Jarrad Branthwaite who had missed the previous two matches against Arsenal at Newcastle United due to concussion protocol following his collision with Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, which broke the Argentina international’s jaw. However, the England international was replaced in the 82nd minute by Michael Keane.
Moyes said: “Jarrad went off, he was cramping in both legs. We don’t think it’s too serious but obviously he’s been out for a couple of weeks.
“We’re not nursing them back in and we’d have hoped he’d have got through, but he was struggling in the last 15 minutes.”
In terms of the overall display, Moyes felt that Everton were well worth their first Premier League away victory this term. He said: “We’ve actually done quite well in some of the games getting draws in some difficult games, but we’ve not picked up a victory.
“Last season we had with a great run of results away from home. So, I was hoping to pick it up and tonight thankfully we did with a clean sheet and we got the goal that counted.”
Jack Grealish (Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
Jack Grealish (Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)