Everton could be without Theo Walcott against Arsenal on Sunday due to a knee problem. The 30-year-old picked up the injury in Everton’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace (February 8) and came off after 25 minutes to be replaced by Djibril Sidibe, minutes after making a brilliant assist for Bernard.
Walcott is a doubt to face his former club as he hadn’t trained on Monday and Tuesday, but Everton will wait and see if he can show positive signs of a recovery in the coming days. The Toffees have Bernard, Alex Iwobi and Moise Kean who were all on the bench against Palace, so Carlo Ancelotti isn’t short on options if Walcott doesn’t make it.
Ancelotti told Everton’s official website on Tuesday: “Walcott continues to have problems with his knee, he’s not trained. We hope in the next few days he can start to train and be available for the game against Arsenal. But until now he did not train.”
The England international has made 23 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring and creating four goals. In 19 Premier League games, Walcott has made 13 chances, 12 successful dribbles (52%) and whipped in 33 crosses with 24% accuracy. He’s enjoyed an upturn in form since Ancelotti arrived so he will be missed.
Everton are currently ninth in the table with 36 points from 26 games, having won three and drawn two of their last five. Victory over Arsenal on Sunday could see them open up a five-point gap to the 10th-placed Gunners.