Everton top the table for unwanted record as injury list grows for Burnley game

Everton have had more injuries than any other team in the Premier League this season with yet another double-blow for a crucial trip to Burnley.

Frank Lampard confirmed that Scottish full-back Nathan Patterson rolled his ankle on the eve of the West Ham game and will require surgery.

Donny van de Beek, meanwhile, left it even later, sheepishly jogging from the warm up at the London Stadium before being taken out of the lineup as the last second - to be replaced by Mason Holgate.

They join a list of up to nine players currently unavailable including Yerry Mina, Andros Townsend, Andre Gomes and Tom Davies all sidelined for the foreseeable future - Michael Keane and Allan are suspended.

The latest double blow for Everton means that, according to injury analyst Ben Dinnery, the Toffees now top the Premier League table for the most injured team in the league.

They have now suffered 34 injuries with absences totalling 1,255 days, with second-placed Leeds United suffering 31 injuries for a total of 1,284 days.

Those extra days for Leeds are due mainly to the Yorkshire club having played more games, and that is backed by the fact that Everton have also topped the table for most injuries per 1,000 minutes - 11.4 vs 10.1.

That 11.4 figure for Frank Lampard’s sides amounts to 1.026 injuries every 90 minutes - at least one injury for every game played.

Everton, Leeds and Watford are the three worst off teams in the league for injuries this season, highlighting further the impact of missing key players on the season’s performance.

Key players missing at key moments

What the numbers do not account for - and a factor which worsens Everton’s plight even more - is the importance of each of the injured parties.

Everton’s attacking threat has dropped drastically this season from an average of 1.24 goals per match to just 1.07, and a big part of that has to be attributed to the absence of last season’s top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin for large parts of the season.

The 25-year-old has only made 11 Premier League appearances - some of which have been while injured - scoring just three goals, whereas last season he hit 16 in 33.

And as much as Everton are scoring less, they are also conceding more - averaging 1.75 goals conceded per game compared to 1.26 last season.

And with countless injuries to the likes of Yerry Mina, Seamus Coleman, Ben Godfrey and Michael Keane it’s no surprise Everton are leaking goals.

While it definitely isn’t the only reason why the club are where they are, the amount of injuries the squad have suffered has undoubtably made a difficult season much worse.

Calvert-Lewin’s return looks to be a welcome relief, while the return of Fabian Delph has added an experienced head back into first-team action.

The others cannot come soon enough.