Everton boss Sean Dyche has confirmed Dele Alli has been forced to undergo surgery on his groin after a setback in his recovery.
The 27-year-old has been out since last March with a groin injury he suffered whilst on loan at Turkish side Besiktas. Now, Everton boss Dyche has confirmed the midfielder has gone under the knife again and there is no timeframe on the former Tottenham star’s return.
Ahead of his side’s fourth round FA Cup clash with Everton this weekend, Dyche told reporters on Thursday: “Dele has required surgery. There is no time scale on his return. It is groin surgery.”
The former England international gave an emotional interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap in August 2023, where he revealed he spent six weeks in rehab over the summer due to his addiction to sleeping tablets. The former MK Dons star also spoke about his traumatic childhood and mental health and how he vowed to get back to first-team football one day. But after returning to training in December, this is a big setback for Dele.
Alli, who has not played a competitive game for a good 11 months now, may have played his last match for Everton as his contract with the Toffees expires this summer. The last time he played for the Merseyside outfit, a side he joined from Tottenham in early 2022, was at the start of the 2022/23 campaign.