No rush back for Lennon
AARON LENNON will be given all the time he needs to recover from his stress-related illness.
Everton boss Ronald Koeman insists the club will not put any pressure on the winger and will welcome him back to their squad whenever he has recovered.
Lennon, 30, was detained under the Mental Health Act on Sunday following concerns over his welfare.
The former England winger has just over 12 months left on the three-year contract he signed when he moved from Tottenham in 2015.
Koeman said: “Aaron had a stress-related illness and it is a private situation. “We will try to give him all the support (to enable) him to come back as soon as possible.
“We have contact with him and his family and I
think it is best we keep it between club, the player and his family.
“We would like to see him back but what is important now is for him to be like he was. Life, health, is more important than football.
“Aaron has still one or two years more on his contract and, of course, it is long-term support if it is a long-term problem.”
Koeman believes the pressure on players is now greater than when he played because of the advent of social media.
He added: “We try always with every individual player to help him to improve as a football player and if we feel there are some problems in mental health, or other issues, then we have enough people working in the club to help players.”
Meanwhile, Koeman insists he will see out the final two years of his Everton contract, despite telling Spanish newspaper Sport it was his “dream” to manage his former club Barcelona.
He said: “I mentioned several times that is a human ambition but that changes nothing about my contract with Everton.
“There is no chance I will leave Everton before the end of my contract.
“I am really happy to be at Everton. I am looking forward to next season. I’ll be part of that project.”