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

Everton will be aiming to build on last weekend’s impressive win over Aston Villa when they take on Leeds United on Monday evening – but they may be forced to make do without several players due to injury issues.

Jack Grealish is the latest player to have suffered a significant injury, and while David Moyes will be hopeful that he can soon call upon the likes of Jarrad Branthwaite, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tim Iroegbunam, there is a possibility that Everton have to make do without as many as six first-team players.

With kick-off not far away, we’ve collected all of the latest Everton injury news and updates below – along with the stricken players’ expected return dates when available.

How long will Jack Grealish be out for Everton?

Everton announced on Wednesday that Jack Grealish, who had seemed to experience a new lease of life since signing from Manchester City in the summer, had sustained a foot injury, later confirmed by Moyes to be a stress fracture.

Moyes has insisted that the club does not yet have a timeline for his return, but Fabrizio Romano has since reported that Grealish would be unavailable for around 12 weeks, which would mean that he may only be available for the last three or four matches of the season.

At his Friday pre-match press conference, Moyes described Grealish’s injury as a “huge blow.” The 30-year-old winger had started 18 of Everton’s Premier League matches so far this season, scoring twice and providing six assists as he began to rekindle his hopes of inclusion in England’s World Cup squad. With this latest injury, that prospect sadly looks more distant than ever.

Could Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall or Jarrad Branthwaite return to face Leeds?

There was more positive news on the status of several other recent injury victims, with Moyes telling the media that both Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Charly Alcaraz had returned to training this week – although he did not confirm whether either of them might be available to face Leeds.

Another long-term absentee who could easily make the squad for Monday night is centre-half Jarrad Branthwaite. The 23-year-old defender hasn’t played yet this season due to a hamstring injury which required surgery in October following complications with his recovery – but he has been back in training since last week and stands a chance of playing some part.

One player who seems less likely to be involved is midfielder Tim Iroegbunam. Although media reports had suggested that he could return from a recent groin issue in time to face Leeds, Moyes did not include him in his summary of players who had come back to training, suggesting that he will not be included on Monday.

Everton will also be without the services of Michael Keane, who is serving the final match of a three-game ban for a straight red card he picked up against Wolves, but they will have both Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye back once more after they returned from Senegal’s successful Africa Cup of Nations campaign.