Sean Dyche has admitted Jarrad Branthwaite’s return to fitness has been longer than Everton initially expected.
The centre-back enjoyed an outstanding 2023-24 campaign as he became a Toffees regular. Branthwaite made a total of 41 appearances and scored three goals – which saw him named Young Player and Players’ Player of the Season. He also broke into England’s senior debut but was not part of their Euro 2024 squad.
Branthwaite required minor groin surgery at the start of the summer, however, which him ruled him out of the pre-season fixture programme. And he’s still to make a playing return and his presence has been missed, with Everton losing all four of their opening Premier League fixtures which leaves them bottom of the table.
Branthwaite is back in training but Everton are being careful with him. They’re taking a similar approach with Nathan Patterson, who required hamstring surgery in April and is still to feature. Via The Athletic, Goodison Park boss Dyche said: “He had a couple of hiccups which can happen with secondary injuries – they can be a real pain.
