Ronald Koeman has revealed why he accepted Romelu Lukaku’s request to miss Everton’s mid-season trip to Dubai.
The striker was a notable absentee from the Blues’ travelling party earlier this week as they flew out for a warm-weather training camp in the United Arab Emirates.
Lukaku is currently battling to shake of a calf problem and stayed on Merseyside ahead of plans to see a specialist in his native Belgium for treatment this week.
And Koeman fully expects the Everton front man to be available in time for next Saturday’s visit of Sunderland after granting the request.
He said: “We know that for 10 days Rom has had some problems with his calf.
“He has a lot of confidence in the Belgian doctor and I gave him permission to go to Belgium and recover.
“We expect him, normally, next Tuesday to be joining in the training session.
“He will be fit and available for the weekend.”