Everton have confirmed that Theo Walcott ‘will be available’ to face Southampton on Thursday evening after recovering from abdominal surgery. The 31-year-old went under the knife at the end of June, but he’s finally ready to make his return.
It remains to be seen whether Walcott will be in the matchday eleven given he’s started only 15/38 games in all competitions this season while amassing 1069/3420 minutes of football, but he could be useful from the bench.
Everton have been in good form since football returned in England, drawing 0-0 with Liverpool (June 21), winning 1-0 against Norwich City (June 24), winning 2-1 against Leicester City (July 1) and losing 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur (July 6), so the £20.25m signing may not be thrown straight in.
Carlo Ancelotti is likely to reward the players that helped pick up seven points from a possible 12, so Bernard may battle Alex Iwobi for a starting place and Anthony Gordon could make the XI too. Time will tell.
Ahead of Thursday’s clash with Southampton, Everton are 11th in the Premier League with 44 points from 33 games. The Saints are one place and one point below in the table and boast three wins from their last four, so they’re no slouches.