Four Everton players ruled out of Arsenal clash as plan for £15m signing confirmed

Everton will again be without Dominic Calvert-Lewin when they travel to Arsenal in the Premier League tonight.

The striker is set to miss a fourth successive game as he battles back from a hamstring injury.

Calvert-Lewin has been available for just one match since Sean Dyche took charge as manager as the Toffees battle to avoid relegation. That was in the 1-0 defeat of Arsenal at Goodison Park in what was only the England international’s 12th appearance of the campaign.

Certainly, Everton expect a much tougher challenge when they face the league leaders at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal can go five points clear at the summit with a with while the Blues can move out of the drop zone if they pull off an unlikely victory.

Dyche has confirmed that James Garner will also be absent. The midfielder, who signed for up to £15 million from Manchester United last summer, is hasn’t played since November because of a back issue. Garner is due to play for the under-21s against PSV Eindhoven in the Premier League International Cup tomorrow.

Dyche said at his pre-match press conference: “Jimmy is going well - he’s getting fitter and stronger. There’s another game this week [for the under-21s], so we’ll probably get him in that one. And then he should be classed as being fit.”

Nathan Patterson suffered a setback in his recovery from a medial knee injury and is ruled out. Meanwhile, Andros Townsend is approaching a year on the sidelines since rupturing his ACL and no time frame has bene given on a possible return.