BY CHRIS MCNULTY
SEAMUS Coleman is now in a race against time to be fit for Everton’s Merseyside derby against Liverpool on Tuesday night at Anfield, with the Killybegs man set to miss Saturday’s FA Cup tie away to Stevenage.
Twelve minutes from the end of Monday’s one-all draw at West Brom in the Premier League, Coleman limped out holding his hamstring.
While the injury is not as serious as first expected, the 25-year old full-back is definitely out of Saturday’s game.
“The only difference from the squad on Monday is Seamus Coleman. He picked up a minor soft tissue injury, so he’ll miss the weekend and we’ll assess him from there.”
Everton are still without Ross Barkley and Steven Pienaar ahead of their trip to the League One outfit.
Victories over Portsmouth, Stourbridge and Doncaster Rovers may have seen Stevenage through to the last 32 of the FA Cup but the club’s League One status remains in jeopardy, with the Hertfordshire outfit currently four points adrift of safety at the foot of the third tier table.
Midfielder Greg Tansey, grandson of former Everton star Jimmy, would have been a player to watch but recently completed a move to SPL outfit Inverness Caledonian Thistle, meaning 12-goal top scorer Francois Zoko is likely to provide the greatest threat.
Everton will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to 2014 and reach the last 16 of the competition for the fourth successive season.
Martinez’s men have lost only once in their last 16 games in all competitions and have kept two clean sheets in their last three outings.
The Toffees have not rule Coleman out of Tuesday’s huge derby game at Anfield – a game the Blues head into aiming to leapfrog their city rivals.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)