Medical insider: ‘Extended’ Dominic Calvert-Lewin absence likely after Everton latest
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was expected to return for Everton in early September – but that timeline may be slightly extended in order to ensure he remains fit on his return.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
Calvert-Lewin, 25, has not featured in 2022-23 after he sustained a knee injury in training at Finch Farm earlier this month.
The striker suffered with various injuries last term and featured in less than half of the Toffees’ league matches as they narrowly dodged relegation.
As quoted by club media last Friday (19 August), Frank Lampard revealed that Calvert-Lewin is now “back out on the grass”.
Dinnery claimed that his return to individual training is a “milestone” but that he could still be a while away from a return to play.
“That step outside is a milestone,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Typically, we are talking about gym-based activity prior to that. But I want to move away from the timeframe-led end goal. It’s more about tailoring recovery sessions around an individual and a specific problem.
“If you look at his history, he was heavily disrupted in 2021-22. When he steps out on the training pitch, he will initially be working on an individual programme. He will then be looking to increase that with activity-based assessments.
“Once they have been checked off without any reaction, you can move on to the next stage. We need to see Calvert-Lewin go through some dynamic loading and high sessions to get him integrated with the first team.
“The ultimate goal is to get him reintegrated for high-performance output.
“In terms of his potential return to play, I wasn’t expecting this to happen in August. The initial understanding was around September time, hopefully in the early part of the month.
“You have to be very careful given his history, so that timeline might extend a bit. But it’s great that he’s made the transition to outside. Now, it’s about managing the player so that he doesn’t suffer any further setbacks.”
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