Everton manager Sean Dyche has now confirmed that forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin will miss Saturday’s fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The £1.5m striker missed Everton’s Premier League opener against Fulham but returned for last week’s trip to Villa Park.
However, a first-half collision with Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez saw the 26-year-old withdrawn from the game on 36 minutes.
Indeed, DCL’s misfortune with injuries continues to haunt the England international, and Everton boss Sean Dyche has now confirmed that he will ‘unfortunately’ be unavailable for Saturday’s game.
Speaking at his press conference via Everton’s official YouTube ahead of Wolves’ visit to Goodison Park, Dyche said: “First things first, he’s (Calvert-Lewin) seeing a specialist tomorrow.
The specialist advice was he needed the swelling to settle down so unfortunately he will miss the weekend but that’s part of him hopefully getting the right answer and the protocols we need to follow.”
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Calvert-Lewin absences for Everton sadly all too familiar and only deepen the urgency for striking reinforcements
Everton have had a terrible start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign after surviving the drop by just two points last term.
Indeed, with two defeats and five goals conceded with zero in return, Saturday’s fixture against Wolves already feels like a must-win game for Sean Dyche’s side.
However, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin unavailable, the Toffees may once again have to rely on £15m flop Neal Maupay, who has managed just one goal for the Blues since his arrival on Merseyside last summer.
Everton are reportedly trying to sign Udinese forward Beto and are once again linked with Southampton’s Scottish international Che Adams, but neither deal appears to be moving at any kind of pace ahead of next week’s deadline.
Sean Dyche’s attacking options will be further limited with the absence of midfielder Alex Iwobi, who also went off injured at Villa Park last week, meaning the Toffees are now without their main centre-forward and one of their most creative outlets.