Everton seek specialist advice over Leighton Baines' ankle injury
Friday 25 March 2016 11:27, UK
Everton full-back Leighton Baines will see a specialist in a bid to resolve his long-standing ankle complaint.
The England defender had missed five games before coming off the bench to make his first appearance in a over month at Villa Park in midweek.
He underwent surgery on the same ankle for the second time in August and only made his first appearance of the season in December.
Manager Roberto Martinez said the left-back could yet feature against West Ham on Saturday despite the ongoing problems.
He said: "Since the surgery, it has been giving him a little bit of soreness and managing that pain at times has been a little bit difficult.
"When he came on against Villa, he felt he had to play through pain at times which is not ideal, so we have to make sure we solve that because it is not fair on Leighton to be feeling pain every time he steps on the football pitch.
"We are going to be seeing the specialist but it shouldn't stop him from training and being with the group. He's just been carrying a little niggle, part of the injury that kept him away from the pitch.
"We need to make sure that final step is sorted and it clears him from pain from now until the end of the season. He should be available for the weekend."
Midfielder Bryan Oviedo was forced off with an injury at Villa Park and is a doubt for the weekend.
Martinez said: "Bryan is going to be assessed. He has got a little bit of a knock but it is not a major problem. I don't think he will train on Thursday but we will look at him over the next 48 hours to see if he can make the squad or not.
"There is a bit of a question mark over Bryan, as there is on Tom Cleverley who is coming back from illness. He had a bit of a chest infection. We'll see if he can join the group today.
"We are going to test Mo Besic and Darron Gibson but it looks like they will be available."
