Fabian Delph is an injury doubt for Everton ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup clash with Liverpool, but the club have confirmed that Bernard is also an uncertainty. The 27-year-old missed Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City after being injured in the warm-up. He was due to start at the Etihad Stadium and had to be replaced by Tom Davies.
Carlo Ancelotti revealed in Friday’s pre-match press conference that Bernard will be assessed before a decision is made. He said: “On Bernard, we will check (on Friday) in training.” The Brazilian international has made 14 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring and creating three goals, but he’s hardly featured in recent months.
Bernard has featured in only four of Everton’s last 11 Premier League games. He missed three games due to a knee injury, was an unused substitute three times and was absent for another match after the recent knock. Five of Everton’s 10 league defeats have come in the nine games Bernard has missed in 2019/20.
He’s clearly influential but may only be fit enough for the bench this weekend. With only 77 minutes of football under his belt in the last three weeks, it would be a big ask to start him against an intense and in-form Liverpool side.