Fabian Delph training plan revealed after lengthy Everton injury return

Fabian Delph has been handed several days of Everton respite after his impressive comeback performance.

The midfielder's been plagued by injuries since arriving at Goodison Park from Manchester City in the summer of 2019.

For Saturday's visit of Manchester United, Delph made his return from a four-month lay-off due to a thigh issue.

It was only his seven appearance all season - but he made all the difference.

The 32-year-old provided nous in the engine room as Frank Lampard's side delivered a 1-0 victory to move four points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.

He dug in for 84 minutes before he received a standing ovation when substituted for Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Given the time he was absent for, Delph quipped he's set for a week off training to recover ahead of a meeting against Leicester City on Wednesday 20 April.

What’s been said

He told BT Sport after the United win: “December [was his last game] and probably before that December as well.

“It was good for me to get out there. I'm always wanting to help the lads and felt like I did that today.

“But now I don't think I will train for a week!

“We have a massive fight, it's one game at a time. We're not going to get carried away.

“Just like the last game, we were down and picked ourselves up again.

“The next game is going to be about putting points on the board and the table.

“That's our main focus - to get points on the table and stay up.”

‘Deserved rest’

Lampard lauded the performance of Delph - and admitted he's entitled to a deserved break.

The Everton boss said: “We have missed him. It's something that goes unnoticed.

“Every manager will bemoan it. We've got injuries and problems but with the attributes and balance of our squad, if we have one or two defensive midfielders out then it's tough for us because we don't have them there.

“Delphy gave us a sense of calm, positional behaviours in terms of if a centre-back gets dragged out, he'll drop straight into the back four.

“He was great. I saw his interview and he will get his deserved rest for a few days.”