Everton news: Medical expert issues Dominic Calvert-Lewin ‘write-off’ claim after latest
Everton star Dominic Calvert-Lewin will consider the current season a “write-off” and his main focus is now getting fit for 2022-23.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Calvert-Lewin has struggled with toe and muscle problems this term and has just nine league appearances to his name.
Just two of the 24-year-old centre-forward’s outings have come under new Toffees boss Frank Lampard, who was appointed at the end of January.
Calvert-Lewin started Monday night’s 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham, but lasted only 69 minutes before being replaced by Dele Alli.
Dinnery claims that the primary goal will be for Calvert-Lewin to push on ahead of pre-season in a few months’ time.
“He came into the season with a toe issue that had been niggling away,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“He was at the Euros but he was on the fringes. So while he was with the group, he probably became a little de-conditioned.
“The intensity of the sessions in the tournament environment means he wasn’t in tip-top fitness compared to what he might have got from pre-season.
“He was playing catch-up from the get-go. The toe problem ultimately led to the thigh problem. He had very few minutes in the first half of the campaign.
“In Lampard, he has a new manager who he’ll be keen to impress, so there will be frustration there.
“It’s a season in hindsight that he will want to write-off and get a good pre-season under his belt ahead of next season.”
Calvert-Lewin’s eight appearances this term have yielded three goals.
Everton are currently 17th in the league table, although they do have at least two games in hand on all the sides in the relegation zone.
In other news, pundit suggests this may be the real reason for Everton shunning Nathan Patterson.