Everton have been dealt a big injury blow to goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, ahead of their upcoming Premier League clash against league leaders Arsenal on Sunday.
In a recent Twitter post from the club’s official account, the Toffees had this to say on the matter:
“Jordan Pickford suffered a thigh injury in Saturday’s game. The England international has undergone medical investigations this week and is not expected to return to action until after the next international break.”
As Everton’s first-choice goalkeeper that has played in all of their league games this season, and donned the captain’s armband at the same time, it goes without saying that not having him available will be a big blow for the Toffees and Frank Lampard.
To highlight how important the shot-stopper has been for his side this season, no other goalkeeper in the league has a higher save percentage than the England international (83.9%).
In addition to this, the 28-year-old has also made more defensive actions outside his penalty area (11) than any other goalkeeper in the division, showing that he’s not just a great shot-stopper.
Having also provided the assist for Demarai Gray’s late equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest last month, Pickford is currently Everton’s highest-rated player with an overall performance rating of 7.26/10 from WhoScored.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s clash against Arsenal, it will be a massive setback for Lampard and his hopes of seeing the Toffees pick up their first league win of the season, as only Liverpool (118) have had more shots at goal in the league this season than Mikel Arteta’s side (104).
This shows how much Everton would have needed Pickford in goal to try and stop the Gunners from scoring.
Moving forward, with Asmir Begovic available to play, Lampard will have to make sure the Bosnian has what it takes to be a suitable replacement for the injured Pickford while he’s out injured.
