Some Everton fans have been reacting on social media after Marco Silva issued an injury update on Morgan Schneiderlin, Fabian Delph and Yerry Mina.
Schneiderlin and Delph were both absent from the Toffee’s 2-0 win over West Ham United last weekend, with Andre Gomes and Tom Davies stepping into midfield in their absences.
Delph had been given every chance to pass a late fitness test after withdrawing from the England squad with a hamstring injury earlier in the month, but failed to show enough progress before a final decision was made.
Both trained as normal on Wednesday though (Sky Sports), and Silva has now declared that both are fit for Saturday’s trip to Brighton & Hove Albion and will be available for selection. But many Everton fans would prefer that the Portuguese head coach does not deviate from the side that beat the Hammers.
Some of the supporters replying to a club post on Twitter sharing Silva’s update have stated that Delph should only be named on the bench, barring any unforeseen injuries to Gomes or Davies.
Lots of the fans offering their thoughts would also like to see that Schneiderlin does not travel with the Toffees to the Amex Stadium, as he will not be able to drive the team forward.
Against West Ham, no Everton player completed more dribbles than Gomes managed, as the 26-year-old beat opponents with three of his four runs (WhoScored).
Seventeen of Davies’ 41 and 16 of Gomes’ 47 passes also came in the final third, while the Everton product made 33 forward balls and the ex-FC Barcelona midfielder played 32.
Schneiderlin did not register any attempted dribbles against Burnley before being replaced by Gomes in the 84th-minute, while only eight of the Frenchman’s 48 passes came in the final third and 17 were marked as going backward.
Here are some of the messages shared…
Not all good news then is it. Delph on the bench. Cowardly Frenchman in the bin. Good chaps.
— Phill Thomas (@phillyt1878) October 24, 2019
Davies and Gomes on Saturday please
— keiran (@moistkean1878) October 24, 2019
And I confirm neither will be in the starting 11
— Gary Hardie (@ghardie33) October 24, 2019
Tom Davies>
— Alex (@AC18781) October 24, 2019
nice place on the bench at the weekend would be good news. decent chaps but we need to go forward against brighton and unlike Schneids hair, we dont want to go “back and sides” pic.twitter.com/W6FY0DuiWn
— head in the sand (@JohnPitchy) October 24, 2019
No midfield changes required or any for that matter unless injury requires.
— Craig (@ctayts) October 24, 2019
DO NOT START ANY OF THEM 2 MARCO. PUT DELPH ON THE BENCH AN LEAVE SCHNEIDERLIN OUT COMPLETELY
— Royal Blue (@RoyalBlue1878_) October 24, 2019
Don’t start either thanks x
— Large Dad (@Ayyylmao94) October 24, 2019
While many Everton fans would prefer that Silva retains the same midfield pairing in Davies and Gomes against Brighton, some have shared that they expect Delph and Schneiderlin to walk back into the side now both are fit.
Delph had featured for the full ninety minutes in each of his five available Premier League games (TransferMarkt) following a groin injury, which he sustained just five minutes into his pre-season debut against Werder Bremen (Daily Mail).
Schneiderlin had also only been axed once in the top-flight this term before the West Ham game (TransferMarkt), when Silva named Gomes and Delph as his preferred pairing against Wolverhampton Wanderers before the summer arrival from Barcelona suffered a rib injury.
Then he played them both and gylfi.. we lost the match and blame global warming
— Honor8 (@Mindt88) October 24, 2019
Oh no
— Luke Maynard (@LMaynard94) October 24, 2019
Midfield confirmed for Saturday then
— Alex (@alexmcbride99) October 24, 2019
Silva may have had good news on the injury front for Delph and Schneiderlin, irrespective of the views of some fans, but the Portuguese also delivered some bad news for Mina.
It emerged on Wednesday that the Colombian had missed training as he continued to battle the knee injury that forced him off against West Ham last weekend (Sky Sports), and Silva has now added that he will need time to asses the issue before deciding his defensive options to face Brighton.
“Not so good news on Yerry Mina, at the moment,” the Blues boss said, via quotes by the Everton Twitter account. “Of course, we have more time, so let’s see how he is.
“It’s not a serious injury, but until now he’s not worked with the full team in training.”
Mina suffered frequent injuries during his first season at Everton, having arrived with a foot injury following the World Cup, and later sustained a hamstring injury that forced him to miss seven games (TransferMarkt).
He needs time.. To settle
— Leenal wings (@LeenalWings) October 24, 2019