“I feel that he could easily be ready for Monday (against West Brom) but there are many games to come so there’s no point risking him”.
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Stones, 21, limped off with a knee injury in the second half of the Toffees’ win over Reading in the Capital One Cup.
Midfielder Ross Barkley rediscovering his best form is welcome news for Everton, but manager Roberto Martinez believes he is a long way from fulfilling his potential.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez has addressed the media ahead of their trip to West Brom in the Premier League on Monday night.
The Merseyside outfit have grabbed just two victories and lost once, but they have been restricted to draws three times so far in the Premier League this season.
Martinez knows they have deserved more than that but has called on the players to prove they can keep on challenging their Champions League-chasing rivals by stringing together a decent set of results.
Having watched both the former Liverpool skipper and the Chelsea great closely while playing for England, Barry feels that the one area where Barkley needs improvement is consistency; that is performing, scoring goals and assisting his team-mates. Ultimately, Lennon’s defensive discipline may get him the nod but Evertonian minds will be preoccupied with the fact that, facing a Pulis team, the need for creativity to break down a well-organised defence is going to be important.
“At this stage I’d rather have the performances than the points”. The levels have been quite exciting.
“In the last game against Swansea I thought we created enough chances to win and even against Manchester City (Everton’s only defeat) I think our performance deserved a lot more than what we got”.
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The Chelsea target reportedly suffered damage to his knee, but in the immediate aftermath of the game Martinez seemed to suggest that the defender was taken off exclusively as a precaution, but now it looks like he will face a race against time to be ready for the clash with the Baggies.
