Everton manager Marco Silva has hinted that summer signing Bernard is ready to give him 90 minutes’ worth of action, even though he is currently short of fitness.
Bernard, 26, joined the Toffees following his release from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer, but he has only made two appearances off the bench so far for the club as he aims to build up his match fitness.
And despite not being entirely ready, Silva still believes that he can play a full match if he needs him to.
“Bernard can help with everything we need.” Silva said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
“He is ready to give 100 per cent, even if he is not yet in his best physical condition, which is normal because he did not play since last March.
“In his first 50 minutes he did well, he had a good impact in a difficult moment in the match. He is a different profile from the other wingers in our squad. A quality player and he will help us. If I need 90 minutes, he is ready for what I need.”
OPINION
Silva does not need to risk Bernard at the moment. If he is not ready to play then he should not be playing him otherwise he will be adding yet another player to his ever-growing list of injured stars. The Brazil international will be a very good player for the Toffees once he is fully up to speed however he has barely played in the last four months and needs more time to settle in. It’s not like Bernard needs to play at the moment anyway. Theo Walcott and Richarlison are in good form on the wings while Dominic Calvert-Lewin has provided back-up while Richarlison was suspended. Bernard is probably one or two weeks away from being able to start a game, but there is just no need to rush him. It will be exciting to see how well he does when he is playing regularly though because the former Atletico Mineiro player is an absolute baller and has the ability to turn defences inside out if he wants.