Fears that Orel Mangala damaged ligaments in his knee during Everton’s game against Brighton last Saturday appear to have been confirmed by the Belgian press.
The midfielder remained prone on the turf at the Amex Community Stadium after a heavy challenge with an opponent late in the Blues’ 1-0 win and hobbled off in visible pain.
Early indications suggested that he had suffered a serious knee injury; a report by Het Nieuws Blad in his native Belgium claims that scans on his knee have confirmed that he has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.
That will involve surgery and at least six months on the sidelines, prematurely ending both his season and his increasingly productive loan spell at Everton.
The news comes as a huge blow to both the player and the Club who will very likely to be forced into the transfer market for both a centre-forward and a central midfielder after Dominic Calvert-Lewin was forced off earlier in the same match with a torn hamstring.
Everton have an option to make Mangala’s loan move from Lyon permanent this summer but both the nature of the injury and the lengthy rehabilitation required will have thrown his future with the Blues into considerable doubt.