Kone not expected back until January

, 1 November, 38comments  |  Jump to most recent
Arouna Kone's slow recovery from a serious knee injury has suffered a fresh setback and Roberto Martinez doesn't expect the Ivorian to be match fit until the New Year.

Kone was due to play his first senior game in a year when the Blues took on Swansea in the League Cup in September but felt pain in his knee during the warm-up and didn't figure.

That setback now pushes the timetable for his return back to January but his manager, citing slow but steady progress in his condition, still feels the 30 year-old will be able to come back and contribute.

"He hasn't finished his Everton chapter yet," Martinez said. "An injury like this is rare but I'm hopeful he will be able to show what he is about and then we will make an evaluation of his Everton career. There is a long time to go yet.

I want to see him playing and see what effect he can have on the pitch. The signs are right at the moment. There is improvement every week and he is desperate to show what he can do but I am happy to give him the time he needs.”  



Reader Comments (38)

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Darryl Ritchie
1 Posted 01/11/2014 at 15:19:05
Everything that needs to be discussed on this subject, has been. Many, many times. Kone has an injury that just won’t heal!
Anto Byrne
3 Posted 01/11/2014 at 17:12:33
A long time to be out of the game, surely a career-ending injury if he can't get back on the pitch at some stage this season.
Phil Roberts
4 Posted 01/11/2014 at 17:19:03
The state pension age has been pushed back another year so he may still be able to turn out for us before he starts claiming.
Nick Armitage
5 Posted 01/11/2014 at 17:28:29
He won't come back, not now.
Eric Holland
6 Posted 01/11/2014 at 17:33:25
Kone not expected back full stop.
Kunal Desai
7 Posted 01/11/2014 at 18:04:48
Write off. £6 million down the pan.
Denis Richardson
8 Posted 01/11/2014 at 18:16:03
2019
Denis Richardson
9 Posted 01/11/2014 at 18:17:38
On a more serious note, the fact that Martinez had to mention that "He hasn't finished his Everton chapter yet," really does note bode well.

Already sowing the seed to eventually accept that this guy will probably never play for us again.

Think he signed a 3-year contract, so come January he'll already be half way through it....

Colin Glassar
10 Posted 01/11/2014 at 18:23:01
Kone, Gibson, Alcaraz, sadly, regrettably, unfortunately etc.... Need to be moved on. They are no good to us in this condition. Sitting on the bench and earning a fortune no business can accept that.
Andy Meighan
11 Posted 01/11/2014 at 18:39:02
Colin, you’re right... but football can – and does.
Mark Tanton
12 Posted 01/11/2014 at 19:16:25
For a club of Everton' s finances to throw away this money is a disaster.
Neil Pickering
13 Posted 01/11/2014 at 19:30:57
Surely if he's finished we have insurance?
Patrick Murphy
14 Posted 01/11/2014 at 19:40:49
Neil,

That might be the problem with Kone and the longevity of his injury - he might unfortunately have come to an end of his footballing career, but Insurance companies being what they are will want to 'prove' he is incapable of playing football before settling.

Perhaps it is the opposite and the Insurance won't cover him to play in 'competitive' games and that is why he hasn't featured but whatever the reasons personally I would prefer to have seen the lad turn out for the Blues on a regular basis but it seems that it is unlikely we will ever see him in an Everton shirt.

Gerry Morrison
15 Posted 01/11/2014 at 19:48:49
More chance of seeing Lord Lucan in an Everton shirt.
Jim Bennings
16 Posted 01/11/2014 at 20:04:13
Great shame!
Eric Holland
18 Posted 01/11/2014 at 21:09:58
Yes Jim, Lord Lucan, would have broken down the Swansea defense today.
Dick Brady
19 Posted 01/11/2014 at 21:28:38
He hasn't finished his Everton chapter yet? I should hope not. He's barely even began his Everton chapter. In fact he's hardly finished the opening line of that chapter.

Kone undoubtedly has suffered a bad injury and I feel sorry for him (although not to sorry because he's still been paid hundred's of thousands of pounds like sitting home injured), the main problem is his age.

Kone is in his 30s and even if he can get back on the field its unlikely he'll ever be as sharp. I think he'll have another set-back in January which will finish off his season and then he'll probably retire in the summer.

Dick Fearon
20 Posted 01/11/2014 at 21:50:51
How in hell's name were these injury prone ancients passed as fit for duty in the first place.
Kieran Riding
21 Posted 01/11/2014 at 21:59:43
Dick, and Leroy 'never misses a game' Fer failed the medical?
Steve Hogan
22 Posted 01/11/2014 at 21:58:19
Please Roberto, we really are big boys and can face the truth. Signing injured players from your old club was not really a great idea.

But some of your public statements regarding this player are getting a little embarrassing now.

Two days ago, you were telling us 'that he had a massive part to play in the second half of the season'

Can you just accept the fact you dropped a bollock?

Andy Crooks
23 Posted 01/11/2014 at 22:12:05
Kone has a serious injury. It wasn't self inflicted, Roberto didn't deliberately buy an injury prone player. Everton aren't the only club who have injuries. Kone must be devastated but he can cheer himself up by reading this thread.
Gaute Lie
24 Posted 01/11/2014 at 22:22:39
The insurance talked about, does it work like in the EA Sports manager games?

Like if he does'nt play, what do we get back? Do we get his wages? Do we get any payback onthe £ 5 million Wigan got paid
for Kones services?

Anyone really know how this works, I'd be grateful to know.

Jim Bennings
25 Posted 02/11/2014 at 07:51:46
It's truly gutting news for the lad knowing there's no real timescale when he's going to be fit again. I would really have loved to see what Kone could have offered this season but it's looking like another season passing by.

Has anybody else been aware that Oviedo hasn't figured again since the United game? I thought that op to remove the screws was a simple one and he wouldn't miss games?

To be honest, the sooner the better he comes back because Baines was cack yesterday. Don't get me wrong, Bainsey is usually a consistent performer but at times his crossing and inability to shoot when the chance arises doesn't half frustrate me.

Mark Tanton
26 Posted 02/11/2014 at 08:38:52
Certainly makes you pause for a minute to contemplate Moyes's due diligence in these matters. Roberto has made an expensive mistake.
Matt Traynor
27 Posted 02/11/2014 at 09:08:48
Mark #27, whilst I agree Kone does look like an expensive mistake, Moyes was most certainly not averse to making them either. His Due Diligence must've been on extended leave when he signed Krøldrup (see the extract from Osman's autobiography); Van der Meyde, Drenthe to name but three.

I'd also suggest he was a tad premature in selling Yakubu for £1.5m to Blackburn (yes they were relegated, but he still plundered 15+ goals for them, including in an away win at Old Trafford).

All managers make mistakes in the transfer market. We feel it more because it's our team, and we don't have the money to piss away like other clubs do.

Tony Abrahams
28 Posted 02/11/2014 at 09:10:49
Not as expensive as Bilyaletdownov, Mark.

I could understand if Kone was injured when he signed for us but how does anyone know what is going to happen in the future on a football pitch?

Due diligence on which players, Mark? Richard Wright falling out the loft? Kone got injured in the blue shirt of Everton, and this can happen to any player surely.

Mark Tanton
29 Posted 02/11/2014 at 09:18:55
Matt,

Moyes got it right far more than wrong – we can't judge Martinez in the same way yet but he has been rather hit and miss in his dealings so far.

Nick Waters
30 Posted 02/11/2014 at 09:19:41
How was Martinez meant to foresee Tom Huddlestone taking a piece out of Kone's knee 3 months into his contract? Had he not just come on as sub at the time, he would have had to come off, but obviously he wanted to play on, with the result that he must have aggravated it badly.

Bad injuries happen, and often when playing through them players never fully recover (Joe Parkinson and Dan Gosling spring to mind).

Len Hawkins
31 Posted 02/11/2014 at 09:44:08
At least Kone has now got his mate Alcaraz back in the treatment room so he won’t have to pay out the Christmas club money on his own.
Ian McDowell
32 Posted 02/11/2014 at 10:33:11
Really bad news. Kone impressed me at Wigan. He was so quick and could've given us an option out wide and been another goal scoring threat too. You can never have enough good forwards.
Mark Rimmer
33 Posted 02/11/2014 at 20:55:11
I know this may appear a rhetorically daft question, but do you ever think any of these long-term injured players ever feel a touch of guilt receiving such large quantities of cash for actually doing nothing at all?

I often wonder if they look out on matchday and think "These poor gits have grafted hard all week for a pittance and pump a heck of a lot of those hard-earned pennies into this club, and IÂ’m here doing feck all but draining that club of those pennies these poor gits have worked so hard for"?

Martin Handley
34 Posted 03/11/2014 at 17:57:25
One of the few good things to come out of this is that it will free up a huge amount of wages when all three of our sicknotes finally end their contracts at the end of the season. I can't see them being on any less than £30k a week basic plus bonuses. So to Kone Gibson and Alcaraz thanks for the few memories but so long. I'd like to say you'll be missed but most of us never new you were here.
Colin Glassar
35 Posted 03/11/2014 at 19:12:39
What about Davies, Tony? He was always injured when not being useless on the pitch. All managers buy duds, just look at the current rs side.
Frank Crewe
36 Posted 04/11/2014 at 17:58:36
Is that January next year or the year after?
Max Wilson
37 Posted 05/11/2014 at 14:15:30
Welcome to Roberto's Retirement home. The fragile and feeble are always welcome. Alcaraz, Kone, rest here in peace.

Sorry. But it sometimes feels that way doesnt it? I know, I know, they are injured and from Wigan.......... yeah.

Geoff Evans
38 Posted 05/11/2014 at 17:40:14
Excuses are wearing thin. Buying a player is not just about knowing their strengths but their weaknesses. Martinez had enough time to look at Kone and Alcaraz before bringing them here. I think there are question marks not only about Martinez's tactics but also his training methods and some of his transfer dealings. A nice bloke... maybe too nice?
Geoff Evans
39 Posted 05/11/2014 at 18:09:14
(Mark 34) No!
Brian Cleveland
41 Posted 05/11/2014 at 21:25:31
Now I'm confused. In today's press conference, RM said that Oviedo and Kone will be fully fit and available for selection after the international break....

Perhaps he forgot to define which international break?


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