Youssef Chermiti and Tim Iroegbunam are both being forced to be patient with regard to their anticipated returns to action as the pair deal with their respective long-term injuries.
Chermiti has been sidelined since sustaining a toe injury in pre-season while Iroegbunam was recently forced into the treatment room by a stress fracture and it’s possible that neither player sees action until December at the earliest.
Sean Dyche was asked about their progress in his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s clash with Fulham at Goodison Park and he admitted that both players are still weeks away from being fit.
“Chermiti’s making progress but, obviously, it’s a very strange injury [with] the tendon coming off the big toe. He’s beginning to progress but he’s still a number of weeks away, that’s for sure.”
On Iroegbunam, the manager explained: “We’re certainly looking at [a matter of] weeks because of the type of injury it is, a bone injury, so we’ve just got to wait for it to settle. He’s in a [protective] boot at the moment and [it’s a case of] waiting for that to heal and then getting back to training.”
Dyche described how Dele Alli has now resumed his training regimen following his latest minor injury set-back while James Garner is still being assessed by a specialist for the back problem that kept him out of Saturday’s win at Ipswich.
Armando Broja, meanwhile, is getting closer to being able to start full training as he looks to make his first appearance for the Blues since arriving on loan from Chelsea at the end of August.
“He’s been doing loads of work with the sports science team,” Dyche said, “[It’ll be a case of] a soft start for him and then see where that goes but hopeful that that will continue because he’s been making progress.”