Iliman Ndiaye’s injury “nothing serious”, says Moyes

Iliman Ndiaye’s injury is not a cause of concern at the moment after the Senegalese forward had to be taken off at 62 minutes during the 1-1 draw with Sunderland on Monday.

Ndiaye stole the show in the first half with a ridiculous solo goal that capped off Everton’s period of early dominance. However, that upper hand lasted short as the momentum swung dramatically in favour of the hosts for the remainder of the contest.

Granit Xhaka’s deflected strike just 40 seconds into the second half cancelled out Ndiaye’s opener and the Everton number 10 went down with what seemed like a camp shortly after the hour mark before being replaced by Dwight McNeil.

"I don't think it's anything serious,” manager David Moyes said after the game.

"He wasn't sure if he was cramping up or something tightening up so we felt it wasn't worth taking the risk at the time."

Ndiaye’s goal at the Stadium of Light is one that will make the highlight reels over and over again. Following some good work from Thierno Barry, Ndiaye picked up the ball on the right flank and weaved his way into the box before fooling two defenders with a change of direction and slotting the ball into the corner with his left foot a la Lionel Messi.

Expressing his admiration for the goal, Moyes said, "It was a wonderful goal he scored – and typical Ili. He's got dancing feet.

"He was in front of me just at the dugout and fought off a couple of challenges, got away, wriggled in, beat people and passed into the far corner. It was a stunning goal – old-fashioned dribbling and the finish was exquisite, nicely placed and weighted. We know he's got that."

The Everton manager’s decision to bring on Dwight McNeil to replace Ndiaye was surprising. The club spent £47 million to bring Tyler Dibling to Merseyside from the South Coast, but despite his youth, the teenager has a fair bit of Premier League experience, appearing in 33 games for Southampton last season. Dibling, however, has been a peripheral figure and has played just 62 minutes of football combined in his four Premier League appearances so far.

Asked about his decision to bring on McNeil, Moyes said, “Dwight's been training really well this last couple of weeks and we thought that it would be the right moment for him.”

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