Journalist Greg O’Keeffe has vented his anger after Seamus Coleman picked up an injury on international duty.
The All Together Now Everton Podcast had already spoken about the issues to arise if Coleman was to get injured this season – with host Tony Scott slamming the club for not signing an adequate replacement.
Now their fears have come true, with the Toffees confirming their captain had suffered a hamstring injury while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland.
Addressing the news on the latest episode of the podcast, O’Keeffe said: “It’s really disappointing and worrying, isn’t it? Because it’s exactly what we said. We were saying, you’ve just got to hope now he can get through large swathes of the season uninjured.
“Because straight away, you look at the lack of strength and depth. Now, I know they’ll say, well, we’ve got Mason Holgate who can play there, or we’ve got Ben Godfrey can play there. That’s not ideal, is it, asking on one hand, in Godfrey – one of our best central defenders, full stop – to go and play there?
“And then to have Mason Holgate, who’s, to all intents and purposes, a centre-back who’s able to play as a right-back, but it’s not ideal. He’s not a specialist. His crossing isn’t great.
“So it’s not ideal. Just got to really hope now that the injury isn’t a serious one, but he will pick up injuries as he gets older.”
TIF Thoughts on Seamus Coleman and Everton…
Coleman fractured his leg in 2017, missing almost a year of football as a result. A combination of his injury record and age have created doubts over the durability of the club’s main right-back option.
Everton did actually attempt to sign a right-back option in Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Arsenal on the final day of the transfer market. However, they failed to get the deal over the line before the window slammed shut.
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That news would have been all the more frustrating considering how desperately the England international seemed to want to leave. He even posted on social media: “All I wanna do is go where I’m wanted and where I’m gonna play.”
It remains unclear just how bad Coleman’s injury is, but as each moment passes, Everton fans and journalists alike will likely feel more and more frustrated that their club did not sign Maitland-Niles or another alternative for that role during the summer.