'Bit of a blow' - Dyche provides injury update on Everton ace after absence v Preston

Sean Dyche has suggested that Everton forward Youssef Chermiti is set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury in pre-season.

The Toffees secured a 3-0 win in their penultimate friendly clash against Preston North End on Saturday (3 August) but were without the striker.

Speaking after the match at Deepdale, transcribed by the Liverpool Echo (3 August), Dyche confirmed the 20-year-old could be out for a while.

He said: “Youssef, unfortunately, is going to be a longer one. That one is a bit of a blow because he’s done great in pre-season and looked sharp. It’s going to be a bit longer I’m afraid to say.

“We’ll have to wait and see but it’s certainly not going to be a couple of weeks, it will be longer than that.”

Youssef Chermiti suffers preseason injury for Everton

After a lacklustre debut season at Goodison Park, the Portugal youth international looked good to begin pre-season with the Toffees.

There was excitement building among supporters who were expecting good things for the striker in his second Premier League campaign.

That positivity has taken a knock with the news that he is set to miss out on the early stages of the campaign due to an untimely setback.

It is certainly a disappointment because the back-up to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has himself been linked with the exit door this summer, isn’t exactly prolific.

Beto and Neal Maupay were on the bench against Preston and gained just under 20 minutes to make an impression but neither you sense will be a reliable source of goals.

With the Everton boss understandably frustrated to be losing Chermiti, it appears that he may have been higher up the pecking order than the two more senior options.

It is a frustrating setback for the Toffees to deal with but hopefully the striker comes back like he has been in pre-season and can provide a consistent goal threat.

In other Everton news, James Garner nowhere to be seen against Preston as injury concern shared.

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