David Moyes responds to whether Everton will recall Harrison Armstrong from loan after new injury blow
Everton head to Crystal Palace without nine player after Iliman Ndiaye suffered a hammer injury blow.
David Moyes has confirmed that no conversations over recalling Harrison Armstrong to Everton have taken place.
The Toffees have an injury crisis after Iliman Ndiaye was forced off in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Ndiaye has suffered knee ligament damage and will be unavailable for several weeks, at least.
It means that the Blues could have nine players unavailable for tomorrow’s Premier League trip to Crystal Palace. Strike trio Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Armando Broja and Youssef Chermiti are all unavailable while versatile attacker Dwight McNeil is recovering from knee surgery.
Abdoulaye Doucoure must serve a one-match ban after being issued a red card after the Liverpool game while fellow midfielder Orel Mangala won’t play again this term because of an ACL issue. In addition, Nathan Patterson has missed the past two games with a hamstring complaint and captain Seamus Coleman has been troubled with a hamstring.
Armstrong was loaned to Championship side Derby County on transfer deadline day earlier this month to earn valuable senior experience. The 18-year-old midfielder is highly regarded by Everton and had made six appearances this season - three coming in the Premier League. But talks to bring back Armstrong, who has made two substitute outings for Derby so far, are not afoot.
Moyes, speaking at his pre-Palace press conference, replied when asked about a potential recall: “I've not discussed it at the moment anyway, that's for sure, no.”
Youngsters stance
Moyes has had to fill his bench with youngsters from the under-21s because of the lack of availability. Martin Sherif, an 18-year-old striker, has featured in the match-day squad five times since the Scot returned as Goodison manager. Meanwhile, 20-year-old winger Isaac Heath has been involved in the previous two games. Neither have made their senior debuts for Everton.
There is somewhat of a chasm from the under-21s and the first team, with academy products such as Tom Cannon, Lewis Dobbin and Ishe Samuels-Smith sold in recent years to help Everton meet profit and sustainability regulations.
Should any youngsters be given a chance, Moyes has called on them to grasp it. He added: “I'm really fortunate I've got Leighton Baines, who has been working with the under-18s and under-21s. Bainsey has been keeping me up to date. Of course, we're having to bring young players up because we're struggling to fill our bench as well.
“We're seeing bits of them in training. We're not doing great amounts of training at the moment because of the games but if I think they're needed, they'll play. This club has had a problem because of the financial situation and we've had to sell an awful lot of our really good young players. We're hoping the ones we've got, when they're given the opportunity they'll step up.”