Marco Silva revealed in Everton’s pre-match press conference that Fabian Delph is “still a big doubt” ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Norwich City. The 30-year-old has a hamstring injury that kept him out of action during the international break. Silva said: “With Fabian, it’s possible he’s not in condition for tomorrow’s match. He’s still a big doubt.”
How will Everton fare against Norwich City?
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Delph missed England’s 7-0 win over Montenegro (November 14) and 4-0 win over Kosovo (November 17), but it appears he still hasn’t recovered in time to face Norwich. The box-to-box midfielder has made 10 appearances in all competitions this season, the last of which came in Everton’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham (November 3).
The Blues are suffering a crisis in midfield – Jean-Philippe Gbamin is sidelined until 2020 with a quadriceps injury while Andre Gomes has been ruled out for a number of months after breaking his ankle. Silva has Morgan Schneiderlin, Tom Davies and Gylfi Sigurdsson to call upon, but losing Delph is a blow.
The 30-year-old has averaged 51.6 passes-per-game with an 87% completion ratio, won 64% of his aerial duels, made eight successful dribbles (73%) and averaged a tackle (18) or interception (7) every 22 minutes. He should be back in time to face Leicester City on December 1.