OPINION
The international break always comes with a sense of fear for Premier League sides as they cross their fingers their stars come home safe and sound – but it appears as though Everton’s luck well and truly deserted them.
The Toffees were already suffering with a number of absences before the two week break between league fixtures, with the likes of Theo Walcott and Michael Keane missing from action, and manager Marco Silva has another two names to add to his unwanted list.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin picked up an ankle injury while playing for the England under-23s, leaving him as yet another doubt, while Seamus Coleman is definitely out after Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill confirmed, as quoted by the Daily Mail, that the right back had picked up a fractured bone in his foot.
Coleman is one of the first names on the team sheet at Goodison Park and losing his talents at full back will be a heavy blow for Silva to take, but it leaves the door open for someone to fill the void – and there are two 21-year-olds set to battle it out on the training ground before West Ham visit Merseyside this weekend.
The candidates for the role are likely to be Jonjoe Kenny, who filled in on a regular basis during Coleman’s long term injury absence last season, and Mason Holgate, the versatile defender able to play on the right despite having been used as a centre back for much of the current campaign.
Both have the quality to make the role their own, and they both have reasons to lay claim to the position in the starting XI; Kenny is the more natural to the role and has proven his worth there previously, while Holgate has already integrated himself into the first team this season with starts in the Premier League.
It promises to be a tight battle for Silva to judge, and the Toffees faithful will be watching on eagerly to see who is named as Coleman’s replacement.