Everton FC

Everton confirm double midfield injury blow

Everton will be without Abdoulaye Doucoure and Fabian Delph for a month.

Doucoure suffered a groin injury in the second half of his side’s home reversal to Aston Villa last weekend while Delph picked up a thigh problem in training.

The French midfielder, 29, has been a key influence for the Blues throughout this season and previously missed a six-week spell with a fractured foot.

Delph, meanwhile, continues to suffer persistent injury issues that have restricted his last outing to the 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace on December 12.

The currently managerless Goodison Park club are also without Tom Davies, who underwent surgery on a ‘high-grade’ hamstring injury earlier this month.

Everton face a daunting run of fixtures after the international break with games against Newcastle, Leeds and Southampton in the weeks ahead.