The Toffees boss welcomes the Irishman’s return to action given a tough run of Premier League games during the busy festive period.
Everton manager Marco Silva has confirmed that James McCarthy is closing in on a return to action after 11 months on the sidelines.
The midfielder fractured the tibia and fibula in his right leg during the Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion in January.
McCarthy had to have surgery on his leg after sustaining the injury in an accidental collision with Salomon Rondon, having previously had two lengthy spells out with knee and hamstring injuries.
The Republic of Ireland international is yet to feature this term but has picked up minutes with David Unsworth’s Under-23s and was in the first-team group for the visit of Newcastle United earlier this month although did not make the matchday squad.
However, with the Toffees set to go through a gruelling festive period schedule, with four games in 10 days from 23 December to New Year’s Day, McCarthy’s seemingly imminent return to first-team contention is set to boost Silva and his charges.
“James is progressing,” Silva told evertontv, as reported by the club’s official website. “He was in the squad list against Newcastle and deserved that. I think he is a fantastic professional.
“He is getting better. I know games will give him a better condition, but we are playing tough, tough matches and it is not easy to give him what everybody knows will help him get better, which is minutes in those games.”
With such a tough run of fixtures coming up, Silva is pleased that Everton’s midfield has been given an added boost, and hinted at squad rotation in order to keep every player as fresh as possible and keep the squad competitive.
“It will be important in a busy month,” he added. “We have some games really close to each other, there is not the normal time to recover between games. It is good to have all of them available. We will need all of them.”
Everton face Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley, Brighton and Leicester City between now and the start of 2019, with the middle two fixtures away from home.
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