Sean Dyche has been speaking about the fitness of Jarrad Branthwaite and Nathan Patterson ahead of Everton’s Carabao Cup tie against Southampton on Tuesday
Jarrad Branthwaite’s injury setback has caused Everton boss Sean Dyche to speculate that the Blues’ breakout player from the previous campaign is unlikely to play in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup match at home against Southampton. Everton lost 3-2 at Aston Villa on Saturday after giving up a 2-0 lead for the second straight game. Dyche is looking for his team’s first victory against top level opponents this season, but Nathan Patterson and Brandon Langthwaite are still out of the running.
Since making his England debut against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 3, Branthwaite has not appeared on the pitch. Everton has turned down two transfer offers from Manchester United, which were significantly less than the £80 million that Goodison Park officials had valued their precious asset at.
The 22-year-old has since been sidelined with what has previously been described as a “minor groin issue.” Dyche, who will check on Vitalii Mykolenko—who was substituted for the injured player during the first half of Aston Villa—doubts that he will be able to call upon any players who were not involved in the West Midlands match and acknowledged that Branthwaite’s recovery hasn’t gone exactly as planned.
“Jarrad had a couple of hiccups along the way which can happen with secondary injuries, they can be a real pain,” stated the Blues manager. Regretfully, Patto is comparable—not as severe—but cautious because of the quite unpleasant injuries he’s recovered from.
“Jarrad has lived longer than we had anticipated, but the body is peculiar.”
“The problem we have, especially with Patto’s longer-term injury, is that, if you imagine you’ve been out 12, 13, 14, or 15 weeks—probably more in Patto’s case than Jarrad—you’d have a six-week break and then a five-week preseason,” Dyche continued. Ideally, you should play for at least two hours and thirty minutes.
“In my experience, players who fast-track don’t fare well.” We must expedite their development in a strategic manner, rather than merely forcing them into unsuitable game plans. They must join the team when they are well-prepared, as you cannot compete in the Premier League without being well-prepared.
I’ve had enough experience with it to know. People find it quite difficult to rediscover their form if they are brought into the team too quickly.
Since they have only had two days of team training since joining the club this week, they will undoubtedly require more than that. When it comes to fitness exercises, they have clearly completed some preparatory work with the sports science staff. I’m talking about football training.
When asked what the Belgium midfielder, who was signed on a season-long loan from Olympique Lyonnais, would bring to the team, Dyche responded, “He’s got an awareness of the Premier League and he’s an international footballer so if anything, he’s using that experience to his advantage and to our advantage.” Orel Mangala made his debut at Aston Villa on transfer deadline day, coming in off the substitutes bench.
