Dwight McNeil has been ruled out of the first game of the new season with manager Sean Dyche admitting that the winger is facing weeks out of action.
McNeil was on the end of some nasty tackles during Everton’s friendly win at Stoke City last weekend and was forced off following the last of them with what initially appeared to be just a knock.
However, further assessment revealed the injury to be more than just bruising and while the club have not revealed any specifics following McNeil’s trip to London for further scans, it does appear as though he will miss the visit of Fulham when the Premier League resumes next Saturday with ankle ligament damage.
Dyche initially said the player faces “a little period” out of action and that the injury still needs to “settle down” before the player can resume training but later confirmed McNeil is looking at weeks on the sidelines.
The manager also provided updates on Arnaut Danjuma, who missed today’s friendly against Sporting CP, and James Tarkowski who was withdrawn from the 1-0 win over the Portuguese side with a knock of his own.
Dyche told the official site that he is “hopeful [Danjuma] will be back on grass next week” in time to prepare for the clash with the Cottagers and that the medical staff were just “being ultra careful” with Tarkowski who is a vital member of the back four.