Lukaku could return against Swansea

Lyndon Lloyd , 7 April, 16comments | Jump to most recent

(Glyn Kirk, Getty Images)

Romelu Lukaku has been given a 50-50 chance of being fit to face Swansea City this coming weekend as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.

The Belgian was forced to withdraw from his country's recent Euro 2016 qualifiers after hobbling out of the match at QPR with the muscle strain and was absent from the Blues' home win over Southampton on Saturday.

Lukaku was also missing from the first team's open training session at Goodison Park today but Roberto Martinez told the media that his top scorer could be in line for a return on Saturday when Everton travel to South Wales.

He will undergo further assessment this week before a decision is made on his ability to take part as the Blues go looking for their fourth win on the bounce.

Darron Gibson, meanwhile, has learned he will not need surgery on his injured foot. The Irishman suffered a fifth metatarsal fracture in training last week and was forced back into the sidelines just days after missing the Republic of Ireland's European Championships qualifier against Poland with a soft tissue complaint.

The midfielder has been restricted to just three Premier League starts this season because of a recurrent knee problem that recent groin strain and he is unlikely to add to that tally given his expected recuperation time from his latest injury.

The ex-Manchester United man has been plagued by injuries over the course of his career but Club ambassador Ian Snodin believes that Gibson is more unlucky than injury-prone.

Writing in the Liverpool Echo, the former fullback says he can empathise with Gibson and he describes the 27-year-old's latest injury setback as "cruel."

"Darron has suffered with some horrible injuries in his career but I hate the phrase ‘injury prone'," Snodin argues.

"People said it about me but all I suffered were genuine injuries and because I know how that made me feel, I don't like hearing it said about Darron.

"Being in the treatment room and working on your own rehab is a lonely place, I've been there so I hope Darron has a speedy recovery."

Reader Comments (16)

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Minik Hansen
1 Posted 07/04/2015 at 18:12:46

Gibson is pure quality, now he needs to meditate or something to get a long with good luck and get a good season, that'd be superb.

Phill Thompson
2 Posted 07/04/2015 at 18:26:52

At 27, he's still got time on his side to make a significant contribution for us. I think we need a mini clear-out in the summer, Gibson's one I'd keep.

Joe Foster
3 Posted 07/04/2015 at 18:50:42

Hopefully he will be fit enough so we can at least get more than one shot on target.

Denis Richardson
4 Posted 07/04/2015 at 19:53:49

Phil, I guarantee you'll get your wish this summer as Gibson still has a year left on his contract. No club is going to come in for him and he's certainly not going to leave himself so we'll see if he can manage more than the usual dozen appearances next year.

Assuming he doesn't suffer yet another injury at least his foot should be healed by the time the players come back for pre-season in July.

Eddie Dunn
5 Posted 07/04/2015 at 20:35:20

I remember him at Utd with a bazooka of a shot on him. He tried it a few times when he first joined us but I wonder if he can still blast them, since all of his injury problems?

Terry Murphy
6 Posted 07/04/2015 at 21:51:52

All comments so far on Gibson... as for the big fella Â– hope they don't bring him back too soon (if at all for the rest of the season). Like I've said before; wrap him in cotton wool and get him out of the shop window. Our chances of holding onto him through the summer decrease with every goal he'll scores between now and then.

Paul Jeronovich
7 Posted 07/04/2015 at 23:01:36

Can't believe he ever came out of international retirement. Doesn't play for us never mind Ireland.

Mark Andersson
8 Posted 08/04/2015 at 03:07:13

Gibson dose not have the luck of the Irish.

It will be good to get Rom back banging the goals in as he has now put himself in the shop window.

Make a profit so Martinez can spend it on more Wigan players.

Brian Porter
9 Posted 08/04/2015 at 17:14:57

Slightly fed up with the talk of Rom being in the shop window. The guy signed a long-term contract with us at the start of the season. Both he and his agent should be told in no uncertain terms that he will be an Everton player for the foreseeable future. If they don't like it, he should be dropped to the U21s and left to languish there until he is ready to fulfil his contractual obligations. There would be nothing his agent could do about it and it would teach him and others that no player is bigger than the club. Now, come on Rom, get fit and get scoring! You were were happy enough to become an Everton player when offered your contract and became our record signing. Now prove it!

Stephen Daniels
10 Posted 08/04/2015 at 20:01:40

Let's hope that they don't bring him back to soon.

Rob Halligan
11 Posted 08/04/2015 at 20:23:07

Well said, Brian (#9). Lukaku still has four years left on his contract, so I doubt very much any CL team will come in and offer anything over 㿏M, which should be the absolute minimum we should be asking for him. Maybe in two years time eh?
So shove it, you Danny De Veto lookalike, and go suck on your ravioli!!

Tony Farrell
12 Posted 08/04/2015 at 23:58:59

Correct me if I am wrong, but we didn't actually pay Chelsea 㿈M for Rom? Wasn't it done over a period of time. I read somewhere we pay Chelski ٣M per season till we clear the debt.

If that's the case and Rom decides his future lies elsewhere and wants away from us we should have to demand at least 㿔M so we can pay Chelski back and make some kind of profit. I hope this isn't so and we can keep the big fella along with Garbutt.

BK get off ya fat arse and dig deep, there's so much shit to get rid of. If you love the club as you often spout then let's hear from you. Tell the fans what your plans are, and most of all be honest.

Patrick Murphy
13 Posted 09/04/2015 at 00:20:37

I watched Villa last night and if you gave me a choice between Lukaku and Benteke I'd take the Villa man every time. He's slightly more experienced and three years older but he knows where the net is and always looks threatening, Lukaku does score goals but he doesn't always look as threatening.

Jim Knightley
14 Posted 09/04/2015 at 00:29:14

I don't think basing an evaluation on a hat-trick performance is the best approach Patrick. Benteke has been poor for much of the season. He has 9 in 23 league appearances, but 7 of those have come in the last 5. He was dreadful earlier in the season, and was offering nothing in terms of goal threat.

I'm hoping Lukaku makes it back for Swansea, like the rest of us I expect. He has been performing well of late, and we need him to help us kick on in the last 6 weeks. We need to finish the season well to restore a little pride and optimism ahead of next year. This squad should be nowhere near the bottom half, and the players need to prove that to the fans and themselves.

Patrick Murphy
15 Posted 09/04/2015 at 00:42:37

Jim - I take your point but those goals have come since the arrival of Tim Sherwood who seems to have got Villa playing to Benteke's strengths and to be fair to the Villa forward his club have been pretty terrible for a long period of time.

As for Lukaku I would like to see him return but only if he is fully fit, we don't need to rush him back and another week off may help him.

Neil Pickering
16 Posted 09/04/2015 at 07:03:48

If you are comparing Benteke to Lukaku there is simply no comparison- Benteke is better in every area!

He is quick, strong, two footed, good in the air, can play with his back to goal or onto a ball in behind. It's taken him a while to get going for 2 reasons- firstly he was recovering from a ruptured Achilles, and secondly he had a midfield even less creative than ours who he relied on for service.

He will move to a CL club next season or maybe Spurs. We have no chance.

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