Carlo Ancelotti confirmed to Everton’s official website that Fabian Delph is a “doubt” ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby. The 30-year-old has been suffering with a unspecified muscle injury, but Ancelotti added that he’s “close” to making a return to training.
He said: “We have to check on Fabian Delph. (He is) close to coming back to training but remain(s) (a) doubt for the game on Sunday. If (he does) not play, we hope (he) will be with us for the match at Norwich, for sure.”
Delph has endured a forgettable debut season at Goodison Park. He’s spent much of the campaign on the treatment table and has been criticised for some below-par performances by supporters.
The England international has made 20/34 appearances in all competitions, amassing 1471/3060 minutes of football across the board. Delph has suffered four separate injuries this season and his fifth couldn’t be timed any worse, as Jean-Philippe Gbamin may be out until 2021 while Andre Gomes won’t be fully fit against Liverpool.
Ancelotti has Tom Davies, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Morgan Schneiderlin to call upon, but Davies has struggled with inconsistency while Sigurdsson and Schneiderlin have been linked with moves away from Everton, so none of the trio are ideal.
Everton are 11 places and 45 points worse off than Liverpool in the Premier League table and are coming off the back of two defeats and a draw from their last three games. The Toffees haven’t won a Merseyside derby since 2010, but could Sunday bring about change?