Frank Lampard has praised Michael Keane for his dedication to start at Tottenham Hotspur in Monday’s 5-0 loss despite the Everton ace suffering with a fever, via the Liverpool Echo.
Spurs humbled the Toffees in north London with Harry Kane leading the charge with a goal in either half. Keane had broken the deadlock for the hosts 14-minutes into the night, when the ball flew in off the England international’s knee after Ryan Sessegnon’s drilled delivery.
Jordan Pickford was helpless to prevent Everton falling behind, as the goalkeeper made his 200th career Premier League outing. And he would concede again just three-minutes later, when Heung-Min Son’s shot snuck under the stopper to put the game out of reach already.
Defending was far from Everton’s strength at Tottenham, with the Goodson side lacklustre in their efforts, at best. Keane’s nightmare also only lasted the first-half, as Lampard called time and introduced Jarrad Branthwaite moments after the break in a bid to shut up shop.
Lampard praises ‘dedicated’ Keane after Everton ace ‘suffered’
Lampard felt Everton needed Keane to start beside Mason Holgate at Tottenham as he was short on options. Ben Godfrey (hamstring) and Yerry Mina (quadriceps) were unavailable in north London through injury. But Godfrey has returned to training ahead of facing Wolves.
Keane is also feeling better following the illness that hindered his efforts at Spurs. And boss Lampard believes the centre-half merits praise for trying to grit his teeth and play anyway.
“Keane was suffering a bit with a fever going into the game,” Lampard said. “The thing about Michael that people don’t see, or they’re not in that situation, is that whilst he’s below par, we needed him and he played in the game.
“I remember doing that as a player and you don’t always get the plaudits, and sometimes afterwards you wish you hadn’t. But the beauty of it is that he’s a dedicated professional and as a lad, he wanted to put himself out there.
“He suffered in the game and came off because he was suffering, and has still been suffering for a couple of days afterwards. But now, he’s feeling better.”
Godfrey returning to full training ahead of Everton hosting Wolves at Goodison this Sunday should at least offer Lampard the choice of replacing Keane following the Tottenham loss.
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