JAKARTA - Carlo Ancelotti wants Everton to concentrate on Saturday's match against Tottenham Hotspurs in order to keep their chances in the hunt for a European competition ticket next season. Unfortunately, they are confirmed without midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin who is smothering injury.
As well as Gbamin, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is also out injured, but Everton is getting a boost with the return of Allan, Andre Gomes, Jordan Pickford and forward Joshua King.
"With Josh back, we have options up front. Dominic's absence has been very influential, but with the options we have we can perform well without him in the last few games," Ancelotti said.
"We have dropped points in the last few games and have to get optimal results against Tottenham.
"This is important, as are all of our remaining eight games this season, because we have to face competitors competing for European qualifying positions.
"We have to wait until the end of the season to assess our achievements. It will be a fantastic season if we can reach European qualification," concluded Ancelotti.
Regarding Gbamin, Ancelotti believes his players will contribute more to Everton when he can recover from his injury.
Gbamin only returned to action earlier this month when Everton were matched by Crystal Palace 1-1 as a substitute, after being sidelined for nearly a year with an Achilles injury.
Unfortunately, last week Gbamin had another problem during a training session when he suffered a medial collateral ligament injury to his knee, making the Ivorian midfielder miss the match against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend.
Preparations continue for #EVETOT 👊🔵 pic.twitter.com/C6RgpDJlkt
- Everton (@Everton) April 15, 2021
A bit of good news for Everton is that scans suggest the 25-year-old midfielder will not need surgery for his knee injury, but Gbamin is not yet known how much longer to pull out.
At least Gbamin will certainly not be able to take part when Everton host Tottenham Hotspur in the 32nd Premier League match at Goodison Park, Friday local time (Saturday WIB) tomorrow.
"He is a strong player with character. He overcame his injuries last season and the start of this season," said Ancelotti.
"His character is very strong and will be even stronger after this unfortunate situation. This will help his career," he added.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
