Fit again McCarthy raring to go

Lyndon Lloyd , 18 February, 11comments | Jump to most recent

James McCarthy says he is delighted to be back on the field for Everton and is looking forward to putting his injury woes behind him over the remainder of the season.

The 24 year-old is in line to make a third successive appearance for the Blues against Young Boys having ended a frustrating five-week spell on the sidelines by playing the full 90 minutes of the Merseyside derby and then another 45 at Chelsea last week.

A recurrent hamstring problem has severely disrupted his second season at Everton following his £13m move from Wigan Athletic and kept him out of 14 matches but McCarthy is confident that he is in the clear now and can concentrate on helping the Blues back to winning ways, starting with a win in tomorrow's first leg in the Europa League round of 32.

"I'm looking forward to the game tomorrow night," the Irish international said at a press conference in Switzerland today. "Obviously, it's going to be difficult. The gaffer's showed us clips of the way Young Boys play and it's not an easy place to come but we'll look forward to the challenge and also to getting them back to Goodison."

Asked about his fitness after so long out, McCarthy told reporters: "So far so good. I've felt good in the last couple of games and, obviously, I've been training all week. It's just good to be back training with the lads and to be back involved with the games.

"To be honest, I think I've been looked after well off the pitch and we've changed a few things in training. The gaffer's been looking after me. I've not been training too much; he's been pulling me out to let me do some work in the gym. I'm just delighted to be back and involved and long may it continue."

While he missed a couple of games early on the season, including the Europa League trip to Krasnodar when he was withdrawn from the travelling party because of what his manager described as "quad muscle fatigue", the midfielder returned to the side two matches later and then soldiered through a "minor" issue with his hamstring until the away game at Wolfsburg. He had to be taken off just half an hour into that game having suffered a more serious problem that would dog him for most of the next three months and keep him from playing at all between late December and earlier this month.

“It was always going to be a long recovery," the Irish international said in the Liverpool Echo. “I wanted to get back as soon as I could and it got delayed another couple of weeks and that is part and parcel of football.

"[Now] it is just about getting me going and getting my fitness going [and] I'm just delighted to be back and I don't want to break down again. The gaffer will know what he's doing with me, he'll take it day-by-day and not get too carried away.

“I want to keep working hard and get back to the fitness I had when I broke down. It's just good to be back with the team, you miss that when you're injured — you're in the gym with the physio. It's good to be back involved with each and every one of the players.”

Reader Comments (11)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

Andrew James
1 Posted 18/02/2015 at 23:48:26

Some of those comments all sound rather staged... the gaffer looking after me and changing a few things in training. But letÂ’s hope he is back 100% fit and RM has sorted whatever was causing all the hamstring problems.

Besic and Macca... be interesting to know whether RM puts a third defensive player in or reverts to the RM of old (last season) and goes for more creativity and attacking formation with Ross sitting in front of them?

Good luck, boys!

Colin Glassar
2 Posted 19/02/2015 at 00:02:25

I wouldnÂ’t risk Macca tomorrow/today on a plastic pitch.

Liam Reilly
4 Posted 19/02/2015 at 10:40:47

Colin #2
"I wouldn't risk Macca tomorrow/today on a plastic pitch"

This is our last chance to do anything of note during this dreadful season.

I'd risk ALL of them!

Colin Glassar
5 Posted 19/02/2015 at 10:43:30

We don't need to risk him Liam. With Besic, Barry, Barkley, Gibson and Oviedo all able to play midfield Â– why risk a lad who's just come back from a long term injury?

McCarthy will play against Leicester, as Barry is suspended, so we need him at his fighting best.

Clive Mitchell
6 Posted 19/02/2015 at 11:50:19

Agree Colin. Barry plays because he's out Sunday, sensible to protect McCarthy as Sunday's game is (sadly) more important and we need 90 McCarthy minutes for it.

Mike Childs
7 Posted 19/02/2015 at 12:40:25

I know I feel better when he is out there. Hopefully Stones's and Jagielka's recent improvement in form continues and Jimmy Mac starts to go forward more as his defensive shackles are loosened.

Jim Harrison
9 Posted 19/02/2015 at 15:11:38

Is Gibson not back fit too?

Nick Entwistle
10 Posted 19/02/2015 at 15:20:19

Phenomenal news.

Denis Richardson
11 Posted 19/02/2015 at 15:29:14

It's sad that we need to keep an eye on the Leicester game when getting into Europe was our main goal last season.

We still need to take this game seriously though but with Gibson back and Barry out for Sunday then agree that a not 100% fit McCarthy should not be risked for this one.

Really hope we can get a result there. Already have the advantage of having the second leg at home.

Joe Foster
12 Posted 19/02/2015 at 15:46:51

My heart says if he is fit play him but my brain says keep for Sunday.

Mike Childs
13 Posted 19/02/2015 at 16:30:00

I read Joe Foster post and I'm gutted that we have fallen to this point where resting Jimmy Mac in a tournament game is good business.

Who do you shoot/hang first for this dispiicable position.

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.

About these ads