Coleman on way back to give Toffees extra bite
SEAMUS COLEMAN’S return from injury has given Everton manager David Moyes another boost.
The Toffees are on a high after back-to-back home wins over Premier League leaders Manchester City and top-four contenders Chelsea.
And Coleman’s goalscoring return for the reserves more than a month after being sidelined with a thigh problem is more good news as the club look to carry on their good progress in both the league and FA Cup.
Teenager Ross Barkley, who made such an impact in the first two months of the season but has not featured since November 26 because of a knee problem, also stepped up his bid for full fitness with a runout and goal in the 6-3 win over Newcastle.
Setback
The 18-year-old has made a couple of appearances for the academy side in the last fortnight and was named on the bench for the first-team games against City and Chelsea.
It leaves only Phil Jagielka (knee), Leon Osman (knee) and Jack Rodwell (hamstring) to return from injury.
Rodwell, who has made only three appearances since November, was in training last week until he suffered a setback.
But central defender Jagielka, who has not played since damaging medial knee ligaments in the defeat to Bolton on January 4, is now edging closer to firstteam involvement.
“It has probably been the longest January ever, but I have got over that and am out of the brace and starting to do more in training as well,” said Jagielka.
“I have had Leon Osman for company, which has been good, and we’ll hopefully be stepping it up in the next couple of weeks. I am getting there.
“We are itching to get back, although we’ll probably be sat on the bench or in the stand the way the team is playing at the moment.
“The whole team looks different and they look brilliant every game.
“We have added quality players to the squad in January and hopefully we can have a much better second half of the season to the first.
“It proves what a good team we’ve got.”