James Rodriguez will miss Everton’s trip to Newcastle United this weekend.
Rodriguez has been an ever-present for the Premier League leaders and was passed fit for last Sunday’s defeat at Southampton despite injury concerns.
The Colombian came through the game on the South Coast despite picking up a knock in a collision with Virgil van Dijk in the previous week’s Merseyside derby.
But Carlo Ancelotti confirmed on Friday that Rodriguez is set to miss the encounter at St James’ Park while two Blues players are back in contention.
He said: “We have Jonjoe Kenny and Jarrad Branthwaite back.
“We will not have James Rodriguez available, Seamus Coleman is out – and Richarlison and Lucas Digne are suspended.
“James played all the games but had a little problem. He needs to rest for this game, I think he will be available for the next game.”
Ancelotti also reflected on a report published this week that highlighted how top flight injuries have increased this season compared to previous years.
“I saw the report. I think that it’s [because of] a really busy schedule,” he added.
“For us, we had a lot of games in September but this month after the international break we only have one game a week. So for us it’s not so bad.
“But, for the teams that are involved in the Champions League and Europa League it’s really busy. Of course, the fact that there are more injuries is for that reason.
“Of course the managers are concerned for this, I agree with this. It’s a really busy schedule.
“You have to consider that most of the teams during the international break are going to lose players, so you’re not able to give them a rest.
“It’s really complicated and this is the reason there are more injuries, there’s no doubt for this.”