Marco Silva admitted that Andre Gomes could be out of action for the remainder of the campaign as Everton are anticipating a “slow recovery”. The Toffees aren’t going to rush Gomes back to fitness after he broke his ankle, so fans may not see the 26-year-old again this season.
Silva said in a press conference: “Andre will be long-term injured and we don’t have a date for (him). With Gomes, it’s step by step. We’ll be really patient with him. He was with us (on Thursday) again, he’s here every day with his teammates doing his rehab.
“It will be a slow recovery but we knew that. Let’s see each month how he is and possibly he will play this season, but we never know. Let’s see how he reacts. Now is a time for us to be patient with him and to be supportive as well.”
Who should replace Andre Gomes in midfield?
Morgan Schneiderlin
Beni Baningime
Gylfi Sigurdsson
Gomes has made nine appearances in all competitions this season, racking up 675 minutes of football since turning his loan move permanent over the summer.
The Portuguese international’s last outing for Everton came against Tottenham on November 3. In the 1-1 draw, a tackle from Heung-min Son & Serge Aurier led to Gomes breaking his ankle and he’s now undergoing rehabilitation.
Despite not having Jean-Philippe Gbamin or Gomes for the foreseeable future, Silva still has Fabian Delph, Tom Davies, Morgan Schneiderlin and Gylfi Sigurdsson to choose from in midfield.
But if the Everton manager wants another addition to the ranks, he could use the upcoming winter transfer window to strengthen a key area of the squad. The highly-rated Dennis Geiger has already been linked with a move.