Marco Silva has put an estimation on when Bernard will be returning to match action from his injury.
The Brazilian, who is valued at £18 million (as per Transfermarkt), has been missing for the Toffees since the 3-2 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion in late October (per Liverpool Echo).
Having suffered medial ligament damage and spending the past few weeks on the sidelines, Everton’s Portuguese manager has pinpointed the Toffees’ clash against Norwich as a possible return date (via Phil Kirkbride).
Is it too soon?
The 42-year-old manager even suggested himself that for the Brazilian to return by the game, on the 23rd of this month, would put the medical staff under ‘pressure’ (via Liverpool Echo).
With an injury of that nature, the usual recovery time is between two to four weeks (as per UCSF Health).
By the Norwich clash, exactly four weeks will have elapsed since the injury was sustained (via Liverpool Echo), meaning recovery is possible – however, the last thing Silva will want is a recurrence of the same problem if he is not ready to play.
TiF Tactics – Will he fit straight back into Everton’s set-up?
In short, the answer is – definitely yes.
Prior to his injury, the 27-year-old was in fine form, having netted the opening goal in a 2-0 victory over West Ham the week previous to the trip to the AMEX (per BBC).
While Bernard was fit, it allowed Silva to unlock the best in Alex Iwobi, who had started to thrive in the central attacking midfielder role he was playing in (per Sky Sports).
Since the injury, Iwobi has had to be shifted back out to the left-hand side to cover the void left by Bernard (via Sky Sports), and his performances have become sub-par (per Whoscored).
The 23-year-old Nigerian has an average rating of 7.02/10 while in the advanced midfielder role for the Toffees, and only a 6.31/10 while on the left of midfield (via Whoscored).
Meaning that the former Arsenal man may be another happy face to see Bernard make a welcome comeback from injury.