Everton have a tough test ahead of them this weekend as Frank Lampard’s side travel to north London to take on Tottenham Hotspur in their latest Premier League game.
Looking ahead to this Saturday’s showdown, it seems as though the Toffees have indirectly been handed a potential injury setback which could impact their chances of securing a positive result against Antonio Conte’s side.
After Spurs’ official Twitter channel shared an image showing that Dejan Kulusevski has returned to training following a recent thigh injury, Conte declared that the attacker will likely be available for the match against Everton this weekend.
Kulusevski injury update
Speaking on Tuesday ahead of Tottenham’s Champions League game against Eintracht Frankfurt tonight, the Italian said of the Swedish winger: “He is very close to being ready. He had an MRI and that was really, really positive. At the same time, I spoke to the doctor, and he said there would be a five per cent risk if we played him tomorrow.
“I don’t want to take risks because Deki is very important for us. It would be really stupid to try to risk him and lose him for the rest of our nine games. A bit of patience and we will try to use him in the best possible way. With Everton, probably he will be available to play.”
Not good for Everton
Across seven league appearances in the current campaign, the 22-year-old has scored one goal and delivered three assists, highlighting the goal threat that he can pose.
In fact, the Sweden international has the joint-second highest number of key passes (13) at Spurs, along with making more carries into the 18-yard box (17) than any of his team-mates. This highlights how much of a danger Kulusevski could be for Everton’s defenders to handle if he plays on Saturday.
Bearing in mind how only three Premier League clubs have seen opponents carry the ball into their 18-yard box more regularly than Everton (48) this season, it’s fair to argue that they could be susceptible to the Spurs star’s attacking qualities, which would surely be a big concern for Lampard.
