Everton are set to again be without Jordan Pickford when they face Brighton away on Monday.
While the goalkeeper has resumed training, Toffees boss Carlo Ancelotti has said “we don’t want to take a risk” with regard to the Premier League match at the Amex Stadium.
Pickford has sat out Everton’s last two games plus England’s World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland due to an abdominal injury.
Ancelotti said at his pre-match press conference on Friday: “Jordan Pickford started training this week but I think he’s not 100 per cent and we don’t want to take a risk for this game.”
Andre Gomes has been ruled out of the clash with the Seagulls after sustaining a hamstring issue in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
“He started training individually today, he will not be able to play on Monday, and he will be able for the next game, against Tottenham (four days later),” Ancelotti said of the Portuguese.
Gomes’ fellow midfielder Allan could return to action after missing the Palace match through injury, and winger Alex Iwobi is available again having also been sidelined for that contest.
Midfielders Abdoulaye Doucoure and Fabian Delph and winger Bernard continue with their recoveries.
Ancelotti said he was confident Doucoure, who has a foot problem, would play again this season.
The Italian said: “He will play again. He had a scan last week, everything was OK. He is going to have a next scan in three weeks and if the scan will be OK, he can start to train.”
The Palace match saw another Everton midfielder, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, come off the bench and make his first appearance since August 2019, the month he joined the club.
The Frenchman is back after being sidelined long-term by quadriceps and Achilles injuries.
Asked how he was thinking he would use Gbamin for the rest of the season given how long he has been out, Ancelotti said: “I think Jean-Philippe Gbamin can play, because he’s training well, properly.
“He’s not used to the intensity of the game in the Premier League so we have to take care of this. But I think he can play, and now, with the medical staff, with our staff, we have to decide how long he can play.
“He will be for sure a fantastic midfielder. I have this idea. He has all the quality to be a top midfielder.”
