Branthwaite's hamstring problem needs surgery

Anyone can verify or dismiss this?

Needs a hamstring op, having just been out for 4 months with a hamstring problem…

Let's hope it's rubbish.

I imagine he’ll be out for at least 3 months.

That’s him out till next year, probably.

How many times have we had this, 'player suffers another setback from a nothing injury, now out for months'?

This always hits a small squad lacking in quality.

Sickening for the lad and a real setback for us.

Sorry to say it's looking like he's one that's always injured. Great shame but he's not the first.

I'm not a medical man, but out since start of season, and now they decide to operate, considering it’s the same injury he had previously? Massive loss.

We are clearly short of defenders now.

How does it raise questions about the medical team?

We have gone through numerous medical teams in the last 10 years, with Roberto Martinez blaming Danny Donachie, others blaming his replacements, Rafa blaming and changing everyone, etc etc.

A recurrence of an injury is not uncommon. I don't think our medical team today operate in the manner they did back when Walter Smith had medics injecting painkillers directly into Michael Ball's ligaments.

It is just one of those things in high-level sport.

Fucking gutted.

Back on the grass? Now he's back on his ass.

We should count ourselves lucky Keane didn't sign for anyone else after we released him.

'That's him out till next year, probably.'

And probably sold to the highest bidder thereafter. Ugh!

Often these injuries are not memorable in themselves, but the attempted rehab is a farce.

Spending more time injured and months recovering from injury than actually playing.

Then it's time to sell.

Perhaps we will buy a right-back now?

Can we not wish him a swift recovery instead of looking to sell him?

If we can get good money for him in the summer, then we should sell.

Utterly vile comment. You ruin this site.

You need to get over yourself. It's only bloody football, it's a game.

We'll need to dip into the freeby market surely, to get defensive cover in. An injury to one of our 3 CBs, will leave us one injury away from a crisis.

According to Transfermarket the best available are :

Takehiro Tomiyasu, former Arsenal RB, who has played RCB, LCB and LB. Major concern is the injury record. Knee injury kept him down to just one game last season and a calf injury season before caused him to miss a fair few games. Age 26 and Valued at £18m.

Renan Lodi, former Brazil International LB. Left Al Hilal in summer. Also played for Marseille, Athletico and Forest. He could play LB if Mykolenko was needed to play CB. Myko has played CB 19 times in the past, including for Ukraine. Valued at £13m. Age 27.

Sergio Reguilón, former Spurs LB. As Lodi above, providing cover for Myko. Valued at £6m. Age 28.

and that is it, unless you trawl through TM to find midfielders who can play defensive positions.

Any kind of hamstring procedure or surgery usually takes 4 months recovery time and the fact we've given no definitive timescale on his return says as much.

This has obviously been a major problem for him for a ongoing amount of time now given the football he's missed over the last half a year.

If he's lucky he'll be back training early March, the reality is though we won't be seeing him until April and that's arguable.

We really needed good news on Branthwaite because frankly our defence has looked all over the shop in most games this season.

Isn't it odd how he was lambasted last season (by myself included) and yet this season so far he hasn't put a foot wrong,

Get a right-back, we have cover in Jake.

And for fuck's sake, get us a striker,

Right back is bloody essential now.

Funny thing with Keane, as a long term critic of his myself. He actually did alright under Dyche though he was used sparingly.

I wonder if the more pragmatic defensive-minded approach of Dyche and Moyes just suits him better? Whereas under Silva, Lampard etc, they tried to "play" a bit more and him being a bit more skilled on the ball was given license to do that more, thus putting him into more situations where mistakes are costly.

But, whatever the reason, he has been playing well of late.

Tarkowski and Keane can keep it going for us.

Let's get a few things straight. I haven't wished the injury on him, I hope he gets back fit and playing.

And as for calling him an asset, he is. If Man Utd had met Everton's valuation last summer, he wouldn't even be here.

Fact is, our situation hasn't changed. If Moyes hasn't pulled the trigger on a free agent signing so far, I doubt he will now. Jake can still cover a centre-back injury, with Garner dropping to right-back and Röhl or Iroegbunam coming in. Same as before.

I just feel for Jarrad. Crushed.

I'll ask again, what do you get from supporting Everton?

Totally agree. Branthwaite out for the season.F eeling for Jarrad and what he must be going through. Mismanaged and he is dependent on them after his surgery.

Kieran #16

Something is definitely wrong .

PH, I've never met anybody who was less of a "snowflake" than Mr Crooks. Row ZZ with that off-target shot.

But you're right about Jarrad Branthwaite being an asset. In the final analysis, aren't we all?

But I do have to say me love for the sport has evaporated over the last few seasons. It's nothing like it was when I was a kid.

You can't even celebrate a goal, you have to wait 5 minutes for bloody VAR to say if it is or isn't.

Tell ya what, the minute he steps back on the pitch, you send a £250 donation to Cancer Research UK. If he doesn't come back, I'll do the same to whatever charity you choose. Agreed?

Fact is that the amount of wear and tear and the modern players from such a young age contributes to some bodies breaking down, even with the best in modern medicine. But, at the end of the day, we know nothing.

We just wish Jarrad the best and hope to all hope our 3 centre-backs stay healthy and Branthwaite comes back better than ever.

I'm hoping Mykolenko is not called upon to play centre-back. Incidentally, I thought his performance on Saturday was one of his best in an Everton shirt.

I'm hoping we get loan cover for the Branthwaite injury. I can't see a recovery from surgery and rebuild to match sharpness being a quick process.

Ake was linked in the summer and I certainly wouldn't be against that. But, if we sign a competent right-back then O'Brien can challenge Keane for the other starting position and we are sorted.

For all the negativity Moyes imbues his teams with, he at least knows what he's doing with a centre-back pairing and he's manoeuvred his way at through some tough fixtures this season without leaving Michael Keane exposed in a way that previous managers have.

The only positive is he is only a young man, and will be getting the best care possible, and hopefully we will see him fully fit in the New Year.

I just hope the lad comes through this injury and continues with what could be a very good career, I hope your confidence, Mike @42, is on the ball.

Did Liverpool sell Gerrard, or Man Utd sell Giggs? Of course they didn't because they appreciated how good they both were, so this is exactly what we should be doing with the excellent Jarrad Branthwaite right now

We're all mad!!

So keeping Branthwaite is a must, and saying "Sell him, he's only an asset"... What's the point of even supporting and wanting your club to go to the next level if you keep selling your best players.

England are well stocked in that department; we definitely need to sign a right-back in the window.

Absolutely spot on.

Now we're lucky if we can get a run of 5 games without him breaking down.

Hope it gets sorted once and for all but the pattern forming is ominous.

Why did it take 3 months for the medics to decide that an operation was needed to repair the injury? If the correct diagnosis was made at the start, then Jarrad would now be well on the way to full recovery.

Okay. Hope you are right. I will donate £250 anyway to charity.

So, we wait. We have centre backs as cover for a reason and they haven't been doing terribly, albeit we would all like to see Branthwaite playing.

There's no point moaning about it or letting it upset you - things outside of your control can't control you if you don't let them. Choose your own narrative and wait till he's fit again.

The only thing worth worrying about is the players who are actually playing, not the ones who aren't.

I hope he's not another Jack Wilshere or Dean Ashton who both started to pick up nagging injuries and ended their careers at a young age.

Shout out to Keano as well for being a beast and never hiding. He gets well stuck in does Big Mick… the fullback situation the main thing here. We have 4 good centre-backs.

It looked criminal at the end of August, so this can't have come as any surprise to Moyes and Co surely??

Like others, you wonder about the way players are managed at the club. This shit happens too often.

After his year in Netherlands - in season 23-24 he played 35 times - missing one game through suspension and being subbed at that embarrassment which was Chelsea.

In 24-25 he missed the first 5 games, played 90 mins, missed 2, was a late sub in 2 and then played 26 games until the injury against Southampton from which he is still recovering.

He is not a sicknote.

I don't think the medical team could have done anything different; they haven't tried to rush him back, but these things happen. Hopefully the operation will stop any recurrence of the injury... let's hope so.

I think Michael Keane has done well covering for him, and to think of the posters at the end of last season who wanted him gone.

When O'Brien moved to the centre against Palace, he immediately made a difference.

It is strange how some players just become injury-prone. Calvert-Lewin had all kinds of problems until Dyche took a hand and it seemed to work for a time.

I just hope for Jarrad's sake this is a one-off injury and he comes back in the New Year, though I reckon we won't see the best of him again until next season.

He's been out for a few months and, only now, the decision is that he needs an op! So, at least 50% of the season without one of our star players.

But, just get on with it; Keane is doing a great job. I agree with others -- in January, sign a damn good right-wingback.

For now, all Moyes can do is carry on with what he has and evaluate nearer the January window. Best of luck to Jarrad.

I just hope he can get over these injuries, but I don't think the signs are good.

The experts believe it's development-related and not a deeper problem, that's why they've decided to operate, so hopefully that will cure the problem. I wish him a speedy recovery.

I really hope he can get on top of it but to have had recurring injury issues like this so young is not a promising; it can often happen with a player who is big and yet also so quick.

Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery but, in the meantime, let's get O'Brien in the middle and a right-back who can move forwards and cross the ball.

"The concern about recurring hamstring problems is highlighted by the recent injury to key defender Jarrad Branthwaite. An injury expert, Dr Rajpal Brar, expressed concern that this could be a re-injury that "plagues him for the entire 2025-26 season," noting that high hamstring re-injury rates make it difficult to break the cycle once a player is in it.

It seems this doctor was right a month before Finch Farm. He was basically called a PhD student and a quack on ToffeeWeb.Three breakdowns and once he was back in full training, announcement of his possible return against Man City seems foolhardy at best.

Really this is career-saving surgery. Good Luck and best wishes to Jarrad.

But I enjoy your point about the Finch Farm grass.

On the bright side is Keane, who does a good job in the middle. Score goals too. Okay, he had blunders, who does not?

I believe Keane has had too much critique over the years.

As for the crass moronic doom mongers,' who seem to have specialized medical knowledge, seen the x rays, spoken to the consultant etc and you have heard personally that is going out for the season so lets sell him because he is a crock at 23 !

Were now in mid October, the season ends in 7 months time, yet some of you think he will be out for the season ? madness prevails amongst some of these pages.

I wont be inviting any of you to a party unless its an undertakers convention.

Just be positive that the problem has been identified, operated on and has been successful.

How has this be mis-diagnosed for 3 months, and that he's been put back into training, to find that he needs an operation is poor, however it is dressed up. Something somewhere has gone wrong. And this isn't the first time with injuries costing players - dcl etc

He needs to sort out the injuries. He's a top player, and only injuries will stop him going right to the top. He's a lad that looks susceptible to injuries when he goes to ground or throws in big tackles.

It was obvious, even before we acquired Rohl, that we are very short at the back relative to elsewhere on the pitch. A decent RB and Ake (or similar) on a loan would sort things for the moment. At least Keane has been exceeding our (admittedly low) expectations.

According to his injury history, Branthwaite had a hamstring strain on 20 March 2023; out for 18 days.

In the summer of 2024 he had groin issues: surgery in August 2024; out for 61 days.

On 14 August 2025 it was reported he suffered hamstring injury and will miss the start of the 2025-26 season (noted as a re‑injury of the same right hamstring used in the final game of the previous season).

On 20 October 2025 Everton confirmed the defender has experienced a complication in his recovery from a hamstring injury and surgery will be required”; out for 70 days.

The club statement: “Following specialist consultation...will undergo a surgical procedure tomorrow … will commence a structured rehabilitation programme under the supervision of the Club's medical team.”

Questions.

Was the initial injury in August 2025 correctly assessed (for grade or severity) and treated conservatively when perhaps surgical or more intensive rehab might have been preferable?

Was the progression from rehab to team training to full training appropriate given his prior injury history of groin surgery and a prior hamstring strain?

Were muscle strength, fatigue, imbalances, biomechanics (pelvis, hamstring: quadriceps ratio, glute/ham chain) fully addressed before returning him to full training? This is apparently a normal protocol in such cases from what I can find out.

Was the decision to return him to full training made with all criteria met given the high recurrence risk of hamstring injuries?

Did the club's medical team have the optimal protocol for hamstring reinjury prevention and monitoring, given he is a key player?

Once he reported discomfort after rejoining training, should an earlier intervention have been triggered rather than pressing ahead?

IMO there are grounds to question aspects of the medical management and rehab. I am not suggesting malpractice, but the outcome resulting in surgery raises red flags about whether best‑practice protocols for return to play and re‑injury prevention were applied or effective in this case.

I am reminded of that other highly rated centre-back, Lewis Gibson (now plying his trade at Preston), who had a series of hamstring injuries, probably as a result of his body still being in the growth phase while he had joined Everton.

But he also mentioned the negative messages he's received... why would any fan send him negative messages, shameful.

Imagine having to get an operation, which could have been done months ago? A kid who has been rehabilitating since the beginning of May, and has now broken down three times, has finally been told he needs an operation, so he can’t play football. for probably another 2/3 months, which is probably a conservative estimate.

We have all slagged players because we don’t think they are good enough, but any player worth his salt, wants to play football, (even the ones we might not think are good enough for us) which means I can’t understand how anyone would want to criticise a player for being injured.

Brainthwaite, is getting well rewarded but he’s also shown a lot of loyalty towards Everton, when he no doubt could have refused to sign a new contract.

If he hadn’t signed a new contract he would probably have forced the club to sell him to a club who would give him an even more lucrative contract, so the last thing he needs at a time like this is any negativity from Evertonians, imo.

Even if you don’t appreciate him being injured, surely you can accept that footballers do get injured, and just wish the kid luck, for him to make a swift return🤞

I hope so for Jarod, and although it didn’t help his career, when my stepson had to have surgery on his hamstring when it came completely off the bone (I think) four days before he was due to start pre season training in the summer of 2024.

He was out for just over 3 months, and has probably played about 30 games, since January, so hopefully our great young central defender, has similar results once he returns

I do wish him well and a speedy recovery, but I concerned by the management of his injury at Finch Farm and the fact they are to do with his rehabilitation.

It is tuf for someone of his age to cope with recovery, without wondering about why it was not acted on soon, by those still involved with his rehabilitation going forward.Building confidence and reassurance is everything during a recovery as I found with my own son.

Hopefully he will be ok and be given time to recover, with proper protocols in place, which appear to have been absent up to now.

I even wonder that his England absence may have to do with information they had.

Tony, wishing your Grandson well. Difficulty like that when young brings resilience and character to the fore. I have always found things eventually work out for the best, but it might not be as anticipated.

Maybe the CEO lied though...

Groin and hamstring problems would point to a weakness in that group of muscles. He is just putting more pressure on the player and maybe even those in charge of his treatment at Finch Farm.

Danny, you refer to McNeil but I am beginning to question some of the decisions of Everton Football Club regarding injured players over the years.

I'm sure they are not the same medical personnel but James McCarthy and Michael Keane also come to mind, playing through injuries which definitely affected performance.

Jerome @90 presents a great summary of queries I have asked myself.

Apologies, Tony. Hadn't put my glasses on. Wishing your Stepson well, not your Grandson.

I don't think I headed a ball until I was 17 so hopefully the little fella is gonna be light years ahead of me.

By the time the little fella is 10, there's a fair chance that heading will be outlawed.

It's obviously only a soft ball that my grandson is heading, but the joy on his face and the delight that it brings is beautiful.

He might be long gone by then though.

Wishing your Grandson the best as well.

I knew a guy who was a great footballer both Gaelic and soccer. He would not head the ball as he thought it was far too dangerous and never did.

He was really good at progression of the ball upfield, had some great body swerves and was a terrific finisher. He was a great boxer as well, which seems ironic.

His previous injuries weren't helping but he will be devastated. Hopefully all will come good for him in 2030, and of course before that the Euros in 2028.