Everton trio Kevin Mirallas, Gerard Deulofeu and Mo Besic are winning the race to be fit for Saturday’s game at Southampton, according to boss Roberto Martinez.
Deulofeu and Besic missed last weekend’s opener with Watford after sustaining injuries in pre-season, but could feature against Saints after stepping up their respective rehabilitation programmes in recent days.
“Gerard Deulofeu and Mo Besic are very close and it’s about getting them back to their best possible level.
“Physically we need giving them that introduction but they are close to making the squad for the weekend,” said Martinez.
Mirallas, meanwhile, sustained an ankle injury against Watford after a dangerous tackle from Valon Behrami, and will be assessed ahead of the St Mary’s encounter.
Over the [last] weekend we picked up a worrying knock on Kevin Mirallas,” the Catalan added.
“He’s got a bit of a swollen ankle but I’m quite positive in Kevin being fit, even though as it stands now we are going to check and assess him for the weekend.
“It was a very dangerous challenge and if you review the action, he was very fortunate to escape with no major injury.”
The news comes as a timely boost to Blues boss, who has seen his squad decimated by injuries to key players.
