Tuesday, 11th February, 2014
Lacina Traore is poised to make his Everton debut when they host Crystal Palace tomorrow but manager Roberto Martinez remains wary of giving him a full game just yet.
Traore is working his way back to match fitness from a soft-tissue injury, though he did make the bench for Everton's 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
mobile ad
Martinez has gone through his injury woes this season, with even star man Romelu Lukaku out at the moment, but does not want to rush with loanee Traore.
Brought over from Monaco, Traore could well be involved at Goodison Park tomorrow, with Martinez telling a press conference today: "He's not ready to play 90 minutes yet.
relatedNewsStory
"Lacina was on the bench on Sunday. It's very important for him to get to know the players and to get into the dynamics of matchday.
"He's desperate to play. But we're holding him back a little bit as he's coming back from an injury and we don't want that to be an issue.
"He'll have a massive role to play in our final run of games. It's just about giving him the opportunity to be in at the right time."
As for Lukaku, the Belgian is also nearing his comeback from injury, with Everton missing his brand of attack that has brought nine goals so far.
"We have real positive news [on Lukaku]," Martinez added. "He's back with us and he will be ready very, very soon. If it's not this weekend, then it will be the next."
Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.
