James McCarthy has not played a Premier League game for Everton since February. When will he be back at Goodison Park?
James McCarthy celebrated five years as an Everton player at the weekend but it is fair to say that the last few seasons have not given him much to cheer.
Since the start of 2016/17, McCarthy has made just 16 Premier League appearances due to injury and he has not been seen since suffering an horrific broken leg in an innocuous collision with West Brom’s Salomon Rondon back in February.
After Everton’s 1-1 home draw with Huddersfield Town, where the Toffees’ lack of real quality in central midfield was once again exposed, a number of fans took to Twitter, praying for McCarthy’s return to first-team action.
And their wish could soon come true.
According to the Irish Independent, the former Wigan Athletic midfielder is closing in on a return to U23 action. And it is claimed that he could even be available for the Republic of Ireland’s games during the October international break.
As such, a first-team return at Everton could be about a month away.
It remains to be seen, however, what role the 27-year-old will have under the Merseysider’s new coach Marco Silva. Idrissa Gueye, Morgan Schneiderlin and Tom Davies are all available, while Andre Gomes will return from injury in the near future to make his debut.
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