Ronald Koeman insists he is ‘not interested’ in Roy Keane’s jibes about Everton.
Republic of Ireland assistant Keane took aim at the Blues during the international break over their handling of James McCarthy’s fitness.
Keane claimed that there were ‘more scientists involved now than there needs to be’ in the management of the midfielder’s return to senior action.
But Koeman has dismissed the former Manchester United captain’s comments about McCarthy, who has been at the heart of a club-versus-country row.
He said: “First of all I don’t know what Keane said about the situation – and I’m not interested in his comments.
“The player had a long time several problems physically and we tried to solve that problem.
“He’s now back, the first time they did a good thing and not to use the player in the state of fitness.
“We like to bring him back. He’s an important player for us but we don’t take risks.
“That’s good for him, that’s good for us and let’s hope that he will be totally fit and available for next weekend.”
The Everton manager also confirmed he is planning to step up McCarthy’s comeback trail in the under-23 side for next week’s Premier League International Cup tie with Wolfsburg.
More to follow
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