Everton will be without Fabian Delph against Leicester City on Wednesday night. The 30-year-old is nearing recovery from a hamstring injury, but he’s still ‘not expected to be ready’ to face the Foxes. Whether he’ll be fit and available for Saturday’s meeting with Arsenal remains to be seen, however.
Duncan Ferguson said in Tuesday’s pre-match press conference: “Delph is closer but I think the game will come too soon for him.” The England international has been out of action since early-November. His last appearance for Everton came in their 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur (November 3).
Delph picked up an injury at the end of the game and still hasn’t been able to shake it. The midfielder has gone on to miss Everton’s 2-1 win over Southampton (November 9), 2-0 defeat to Norwich City (November 23), 2-1 defeat to Leicester City (December 1), 5-2 defeat to Liverpool (December 4), 3-1 win over Chelsea (December 7) and 1-1 draw with Manchester United (December 15).
He was initially tipped to return against Norwich, but minor setbacks are keeping Delph sidelined. It’s bad timing as Everton are already without Jean-Philippe Gbamin (thigh), Andre Gomes (ankle), Morgan Schneiderlin (calf), Gylfi Sigurdsson (illness), so Ferguson has limited options going into Wednesday’s meeting.