Iliman Ndiaye of Everton goes down injured during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Liverpool FC at Goodison Park on February 12, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)Iliman Ndiaye of Everton goes down injured during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Liverpool FC at Goodison Park on February 12, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Iliman Ndiaye of Everton goes down injured during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Liverpool FC at Goodison Park on February 12, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Everton injury news on Iliman Ndiaye and Dwight McNeil as the Merseyside derby against Liverpool at Anfield looms.
Everton have confirmed that two key players have stepped up their respective returns to full fitness.
The Blues have been depleted of attacking options since David Moyes returned as manager in January. Impressively, that hasn’t impacted the charge out of the Premier League relegation battle, with Everton unbeaten in their past nine games and have surged 17 points clear of the bottom three.
Dwight McNeil has been unavailable since the start of December because of a knee injury. The versatile forward recorded four goals and five assists before his issue and was forced to have surgery last month. Meanwhile, Iliman Ndiaye limped off in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool in February with a knee injury. Ndiaye has been talismanic since his summer from from Marseille, firing eight goals in 26 games.
However, the Toffees have posted on X that the pair were back in training this afternoon. Everton said: “Great to see Iliman and Dwight back training with the Men's Senior Team this morning as they work their way back to full fitness.”
Will Ndiaye and McNeil be fit to face Liverpool?
Everton have not been in action for two weeks since a 1-1 draw against West Ham. The international break followed while the Blues’ elimination from the FA Cup means they are without a fixture this weekend.
Moyes’ troops next make the short trip across Stanley Park to face Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Last month’s encounter was fiery, with James Tarkowski netting a 97th-minute equaliser to earn a 2-2 draw in the time the bitter foes met at Goodison Park. A melee ensued after the full-time whistle. Everton midfielder Abodulaye Doucoure was sent-off but so was Liverpool’s Curtis Jones, head coach Arne Slot and assistant boss Sipke Hulshoff.
Moyes never won a Merseyside derby at Anfield during his first stint as boss. A maiden triumph would be a big blow to Liverpool in their pursuit of the Premier League title. But despite Ndiaye and McNeil being back in training, it is likely they are still short of match fitness and will need time in training to build up towards a return to the match-day squad. In addition, Dominic Calvert-Lewin continues to work his way back from a serious hamstring injury.
Goodison boss Moyes said before the West Ham draw: “I don’t think we’re necessarily going to have any of them back after the [international] break, but we’ve got three boys there - Dwight, Ili and Dom - who we could all do with seeing back if we could.”
Related topics:Dwight McNeil
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