Everton are resigned to being without Jean-Philippe Gbamin until next year after the unfortunate midfielder suffered a serious chilles injury on his return to training.
The Ivory Coast international will undergo surgery next week on an injury sustained in an innocuous, non-contact incident at Everton’s Finch Farm training complex on Thursday. It will be the third operation of the 24-year-old’s brief career at Goodison Park, with his latest extensive lay-off expected to keep him out until 2021.
“Everyone at the club is devastated for JP and we will ensure he gets all the support he needs throughout this challenging time,” read an Everton statement confirming the latest setback to befall the former Lens midfielder.
Gbamin has endured a dreadful run of injuries since his £22.5m arrival from Mainz last summer and made only two appearances for Everton – totalling 135 minutes – before sustaining a thigh problem in August.
Everton initially hoped their new signing would recover without surgery but he aggravated the injury on his return to light training in November and underwent an operation in France. That did not rectify the problem and another operation was required in February.
The midfielder resumed light training at Finch Farm only last week and was in the final stage of his rehabilitation before starting full training ahead of the return of the Premier League season. Only two days ago he gave an interview expressing confidence that he would be fit for the final nine matches of the campaign.
The injury is a serious blow to a player who was signed last summer as the intended replacement for Idrissa Gana Gueye, who joined Paris Saint-Germain. It is also a setback for Carlo Ancelotti, who is yet to work with Gbamin since his arrival as Everton manager and has stated that central midfield is an area he wants to improve for next season.