Everton will be without Abdoulaye Doucoure at Wolves on Monday, but Rafa Benitez hopes to have him back from injury after the next international break, via the Liverpool Echo.
Doucoure missed his first Premier League game of the season as the Blues lost at home to Watford last Saturday. The Frenchman had suffered a stress response in a bone in his foot against West Ham United the week before.
He had offered Benitez a key presence in the engine room over the Toffees’ first eight top-flight matches this term. Influencing play from box-to-box at Goodison Park, with two goals and four assists. Creating twice as many goals as any of his teammates so far this season.
Benitez believes Doucoure is showing signs of progress in the Everton dynamo’s recovery from injury. But the Spaniard doubts he will welcome the 28-year-old back before the next international break. Ruling him out of meetings with Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur.
“Doucoure was doing really well in the middle of the pitch, so to lose him in these games is important for any team,” Benitez said. “Even the top sides with big squad, if you lose some key players, you suffer a little bit.
“Doucoure is getting better, it seems like he’s progressing well. I cannot say how long exactly, but at least a couple of weeks. With the international break, hopefully after he will be fine. It’s a big miss for us. But at the same time, it’s an opportunity for other players to show their level.”
Everton eager for Doucoure return from injury
Benitez will be eager to have Doucoure fit and available following the £75k-a-week Everton ace’s injury after the international break. The Toffees will return to Premier League action with a tough test away to Manchester City on November 21.
The Goodison Park outfit also host rivals Liverpool before welcoming Arsenal to Merseyside at the start of December. And their fixtures do not get much easier, with Chelsea rounding out a challenging six-match, 25-day period for Benitez.
Having Doucoure fit and available for all six of those top-flight fixtures will be a blessing for Benitez and Everton. Restoring a key cog of the Spaniard’s system to the engine room. But academy talent Tyler Onyango will hope to limit his loss against Wolves and Tottenham.
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