Senegalese midfielder Idrissa Gueye has returned to first-team training in a massive boost to Everton, who have ten games left to battle for Premier League survival.
As per Liverpool Echo, the 34-year-old was pictured in the second batch of photographs released by Everton from their training camp in Portugal.
Gueye has been a key player for the Toffees, making 18 Premier League appearances, with his only goal of the season proving the match winner in a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace back in November.
The Senegal international has missed Everton’s last two games after picking up an injury in the gut-wrenching 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium last month.
He failed to make the squad in subsequent defeats to West Ham United and Manchester United, but his return to training will delight Sean Dyche, who is hoping his side can turn the dial in the final stretch of the season.
Everton have been on a miserable winless run that has now stretched firmly into double figures after last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
The team’s awful form has drawn ire from the supporters, and Dyche has come under heavy scrutiny, with relegation looking increasingly likely every passing matchday.
The 52-year-old has admitted that the fans deserve better and hopes to use the Portuguese training camp to help revive their fortunes ahead of a trip to Bournemouth later this month.
“I’ve never questioned the fans: good, bad or indifferent, I don’t think actually I ever have because you know I was a fan when I was a kid,” Dyche told EvertonTV.
“I’ve got no problem with that [criticism] at all because generally the fans here have been absolutely amazing and continue to be so, they travel everywhere.
“But we are a work in progress, we are where we are.”
Dyche’s troops have a three-week break to prepare for their trip to Vitality Stadium on March 30, where they will hope to bag a first win since defeating Burnley back in mid-December.