Frank Lampard
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s battle to play a key role in Everton’s season has been boosted after a specialist advised he would not need surgery on a knee injury. Calvert-Lewin was advised he did not need surgery on his knee after a visit to a specialist this week and Lampard is hopeful he will be able to spend the period up to the Premier League’s return on Boxing Day building his strength and fitness so that he can have a major impact heading into the new year.
Frank Lampard said: “Dom has had his issues and we are striving to get some consistency and fitness and then form. In the short-term, because the league will kick off again quickly and January is busy, we have to look at that and maybe also with a view to looking longer-term. We don’t know beyond the next period. We want to get Dom fit and get him past that first stage of getting back into the team.”
Calvert-Lewin returned as a substitute for Everton’s game with Manchester United and scored his first goal of the season in the game against Crystal Palace. But there was widespread dismay when his comeback was interrupted on the hour mark in the defeat to Leicester. His trouble this season comes after his campaign was ruined by injury last year, though he was able to return to rescue Everton from relegation with the crucial winning goal against Crystal Palace. Lampard is open about his plans to strengthen in January, Everton’s attack being his main priority. He is hopeful the most effective answer to the struggle for goals remains in his squad though.
Frank Lampard said: “This is a good period for us to not have games in terms of Dom’s approach, because I know as a player when you are injured and are missing game after game it is a really frustrating period. He hasn’t got that now. He can literally take six weeks to get his body in the best condition he can and, to be fair to him, he did that in pre-season and was in amazing nick off the back of America. He looked great, he was a machine in training and looked good in pre-season against Dynamo Kyiv and then the injury came out of nowhere from a nothing pass. I feel for him in that sense but in the short-term we also have to look at how we can protect around that top end of the pitch.”
