The Blues could be without four first team players on Monday
Vitalii Mykolenko goes off injured during the pre-season friendly match between Everton and AS Roma at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Vitalii Mykolenko goes off injured during the pre-season friendly match between Everton and AS Roma at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Everton could be without four players for the trip to Leeds United on Monday.
Vitalii Mykolenko, Nathan Patterson, Jarrad Branthwaite and Harrison Armstrong could all miss out on the Premier League curtain-raiser due to injury. David Moyes is expected to provide updates on his squad in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
The issues would force Moyes to rethink his backline and will add further pressure to solve the club’s longstanding right back problem before the end of the transfer window.
Everton had hoped it would be addressed through the signing of Kenny Tete, only for the Fulham defender to walk away from advanced talks and sign a fresh deal at Craven Cottage.
The lack of depth in that position - with both Patterson and Seamus Coleman having suffered regular injury misfortune - has led to Moyes ending pre-season with centre back Jake O’Brien operating there.
With Branthwaite understood to have suffered a hamstring concern in training this week, there will be pressure on O’Brien to move into his natural position - though Michael Keane is available to step up after he agreed a contract extension last month.
The challenges at the back do not stop there. Aside from the absence of Patterson, who is being assessed for a hernia issue, there is a danger Mykolenko does not feature. He was forced off the pitch after 10 minutes against Roma on Saturday. Everton had a replacement for him, Adam Aznou, but the teenager struggled at times and was later taken off.
Armstrong, meanwhile, is dealing with a minor thigh problem suffered in training and could be close to recovering in time.
One player who may well be involved is new signing Jack Grealish. The 29-year-old loanee has not been a feature of the pre-season schedule at his parent club, Manchester City, but started training with his new teammates on Tuesday.