Sean Dyche has admitted that he is not sure if Dele Alli will play this season after the former Tottenham man suffered another injury setback last month.
Alli has not played any football for the last 11 months, with his last appearance coming on loan at Besiktas. The midfielder has since suffered a string of injury problems but he appeared to be on the mend earlier this season.
Last summer, he famously confessed to Gary Neville on The Overlap podcast about his childhood trauma and having to spend six weeks in rehab treating an addiction to sleeping pills.
In the interview, the 27-year-old remarked that he is now hungry to get back on the pitch and get his career back on track.
However, it emerged last month that the England international had suffered another setback in his recovery and would need surgery on his groin (Guardian).
Dele Alli has a long way to go before Everton return
Dyche has now admitted that the midfielder now has a long road to recovery, revealing that there is no fixed timeline for his return.
When asked about Dele’s recovery and whether he is expected to play this season, the Everton boss said (via The Sun): “He’s in good shape. I spoke to him recently and we had a good long conversation with him.
“Making sense of another injury is difficult but he’ll come through that. There’s a long way to go. We’ve deliberately kept him back, we agreed with him to give him time and space. Hopefully, he’ll be back, we just don’t know.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Dele is a strong-willed character, given the difficult experiences he has had in his life so far, and one would back him to be able to come through this difficult spell.
The midfielder is evidently hungry to make up for lost time and will be keen on proving a point when he eventually does make it back to the pitch.