Branthwaite, Dewsbury-Hall & Iroegbunam: Latest Everton injury news and expected return dates

Everton will hope to build on their impressive victory over Aston Villa next Monday night when they welcome Leeds United to Merseyside in the Premier League – but David Moyes will still be sweating over the fitness of several players who are closing in on a comeback from injury.

Jarrad Branthwaite, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tim Iroegbunam and Charly Alcaraz could all be in contention for minutes before the end of the month after missing time, while there was good news over the weekend with the unexpectedly early return of Séamus Coleman, who was back on the bench around a fortnight sooner than anticipated. But will any of Everton’s injured players be ready to face Leeds?

We’ve got the latest updates on all of their stricken players below, along with their expected return dates when available and an update on the availability of Everton’s Africa Cup of Nations contingent.

Will Jarrad Branthwaite or Kiernan Dewbury-Hall be back to face Leeds?

Centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite hasn’t been able to play a single minute of football this season due to a serious hamstring injury, but he appears to be close to making a long-awaited comeback after Moyes confirmed that the 23-year-old was back in training last week.

The Everton manager told the media prior to the 1-0 win over Aston Villa that both Branthwaite and right-back Coleman were “back on the grass” and “back in amongst it” and with Coleman making it as far as the bench it appears as though both defenders could be involved in some capacity against Leeds – that has yet to be confirmed, however, and much will depend on Branthwaite’s progress in training over the coming days.

It appears as though midfielders Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tim Iroegbunam are likely to be out for a little longer, however, as is winger Charly Alcaraz. Moyes told the media on Friday that all three players were “getting closer but [are] not training yet.”

Of the trio, Iroegbunam may be the most likely to feature with his groin injury believed to be the least serious, but it’s not been made clear whether any of the three have a chance of returning to training before the Leeds match. All of them are expected to be back on grass before the end of the month, with every chance that each of Everton’s injured players are back in action by the time they face Brighton on 31 January.

When will Iliman Ndiaye & Idrissa Gueye return for Everton?

As well as injuries, Everton have also had to deal with the absence of Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye, both of whom made it all the way to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.

Their nation’s deeply controversial victory in Rabat on Sunday means that they will now be expected to take part in the post-tournament celebrations in their home country before returning to Liverpool – but they should be back in the UK before next Monday’s game. It is likely that both are available to play thanks to the extra time given to Everton as a result of their game being the last of the weekend.

They will, however, still have to make do without the services of centre-back Michael Keane, who remains suspended for one more match after he was shown red for pulling the hair of Tolu Arokodare during the recent 1-1 draw with Wolves. He will be available to face Brighton.