Recent injury problems have tested the creative and management talents of David Moyes in the past couple of months. Those skills will be stretched again for the Everton boss when the squad return from the international break.
Vitalii Mykolenko has suffered an injury while playing for Ukraine, with his national team manager Serhiy Rebrov predicting the problem is a "serious" one.
Given Mykolenko is the only senior left-back at Everton, his absence will likely be felt. There is no natural replacement for the 25-year-old, meaning Moyes and his staff may have have to get creative again.
Our writers take a closer look at the situation and how they would solve it.
**Joe Thomas**
This is a troubling one for Everton and again highlights the work needed to be done in the summer. Much of the focus has been on the situation at right back, which clearly needs addressing. But there can be little doubt having cover and competition for Mykolenko is desperately needed.
Mykolenko is vital to this Everton squad and while he is limited going forward, he is a very capable defender. Some of his best performances have come in the club's toughest games and he has been really effective at limiting the threat of Mo Salah in recent derbies.
He is another player whose vulnerability to injury is becoming a concern though. It was in the Goodison derby almost 12 months ago when he suffered the first setback off a difficult 12 months. After being withdrawn at half-time he returned to represent Ukraine in the Euros only to get injured in their warm-up games and then injured again in the tournament. I think this is, therefore, the fourth or fifth issue he has suffered in the past year and that is worrying.
The obvious solution is to move Ashley Young into his spot and that is what I would do should Mykolenko miss out next week. Young is a competent left back and tends to fair better on that side of the defence than on the right, where Luis Diaz and Kaoru Mitoma have drawn him into red cards in recent memory.
Part of me would consider moving Jarrad Branthwaite across. It is a role I think he could perform and in Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson Moyes does have specialist right backs available. But it would require too much meddling to an otherwise settled defence if Jake O'Brien then moved into the middle - for his first start at centre back - after nine games on the right.
**Matt Jones**
The safe option is Ashley Young of course. But after struggling for starts under Moyes, at 39 years old such a long time without consistent minutes could have an impact.
Jarrad Branthwaite could potentially shift across to the full-back position and Jake O'Brien could fill in infield. That would open up a potential opportunity on the right for Nathan Patterson to come in and get a much-needed run of games between now and the end of the season too.
Seamus Coleman would be another solution at right-back and supporters will no doubt be delighted to see him in royal blue before a potential departure in the summer. Young, of course, can play on the right too.
But with safety effectively secured in the Premier League this season, why not get creative?
In the coming weeks, Dwight McNeil is expected to make his return from a long injury layoff, as is Iliman Ndiaye. With the latter making the position on the left of midfield his own this season, McNeil might be left looking for a new home...why not at left-back for a few weeks?
He has the energy to play there, is defensively capable and being left-footed he can provide balance on that side. In addition, McNeil would potentially offer the quality delivery and creativity that Mykolenko has struggled to produce consistently.
It's not a long-term solution by any means. But with a 17-point buffer to the bottom three what have Everton really got to lose?