Many Everton fans have been reacting on social media after Duncan Ferguson stated that he will be without Morgan Schneiderlin and Theo Walcott against Manchester United on Sunday.
Our interim head coach, preparing for his second game in charge of the Toffees following the sacking of Marco Silva, confirmed the pair’s absence during his pre-game press conference on Friday.
Walcott featured for the Blues in our 3-1 win at home to Chelsea last week after sitting out the final two games of the Silva era, but is now set to watch the festive schedule unfold from the sidelines.
Ferguson has stated that the former Arsenal forward will be out of action for the next three weeks with a calf issue, while Schneiderlin will join the 30-year-old in the stands for the next two weeks, also with a calf problem.
Like Walcott, Schneiderlin had returned to the starting line-up against Chelsea, having been benched by Silva for the league encounters with Leicester City and Liverpool after hauling the Frenchman off 11 minutes into the second half of our 2-0 defeat at home to Norwich last month.
Will either Walcott or Schneiderlin be a miss?
Yes, both
Walcott
Schneiderlin
Neither will
Schneiderlin’s confirmed absence will leave Ferguson with a depleted midfield for the trip to Old Trafford on Sunday, with Andre Gomes and Jean-Philippe Gbamin still out and Fabian Delph a doubt to face Manchester United.
Delph joined teammates Yerry Mina and Seamus Coleman in doing light training at Finch Farm in the build-up to Sunday’s game, while Lucas Digne returned to training on Friday morning.
Here are some of the messages shared after Ferguson confirmed that Walcott and Schneiderlin have been ruled out with calf injuries…
Isn’t that just Schneiderlin and Everton all over. https://t.co/ucucXOvIc6
— NSNO (@Rochey1878) December 13, 2019
On no !! 😩😢💙…
— Sarah Garwood (@SarahcGarwood) December 13, 2019
Speedo Mick playing along side Tom Davies then
— Jordan 🌹 (@jordannefc) December 13, 2019
No other club has a injury list like Everton unbelievable how this keeps happening every season wtf are they doing in training?
— ℙ𝕒𝕦𝕝 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕞𝕤 (@willow_71uk) December 13, 2019
Cuco on the bench with oumar then
— Richard (@Mr_C_78) December 13, 2019
richarlison and benard on the wings DCL and kean up front this week
— paul (@paulEfC1975) December 13, 2019
Jeez! Anyone knows if Beni is fit?
— Nigerian Toffee 🇳🇬 (@NaijaToffee) December 13, 2019
Typical SCHNIEDERLIN is injured now hes giving his best performances in a blue shirt !.
— The Music Autograph Collection (@MusicAutograph) December 13, 2019
Never rains it pours can’t remember a season this bad for injuries
— michelle proffitt (@michmosh85) December 13, 2019
What a surprise. The biggest pair of passengers are out for Christmas
— A9Blue (@A9blue) December 13, 2019
In other Everton news, the club have slapped a £14m asking price on a 6 ft 1 first-team regular amid Premier League interest.