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Post by Everton News. on Nov 26, 2014 17:55:42 GMT
 Roberto Martinez says he is delighted to have Arouna Kone back in contention for competitive action. The Ivorian, who has not appeared for the first team since sustaining a serious knee injury against Hull City in October 2013, was named in the 20-man squad that travelled to Wolfsburg on Wednesday morning. And the Blues boss says the striker is likely to be named among the substitutes for the Group H clash at the Volkswagen Arena. “We had really good news on Arouna,” he explained. “He participated in an Under-21s game yesterday and came through really well for 45 minutes. “He is going to be part of the squad tomorrow and that is fantastic news. We’ve been really clear with the individual programme we gave him and the Under-21s game fitted really well with that. “I saw him so free and mobile that I think he is now ready to be involved with the first team.” Meanwhile, Martinez has allayed fears with regards to Steven Naismith’s hamstring injury and insists the Scot has a “50-50 chance” of being ready for the weekend’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur. “We have confirmed Steven has a soft tissue injury,” he continued. “It was just from the fatigue which came late in the game – I don’t think it is a serious problem. “Obviously, he is not going to be involved tomorrow and I would say he is 50-50 for the weekend. But, if he isn’t going to be fit for Sunday, I’d expect him to be fit for the next game after that.” Gareth Barry, Leighton Baines, Darron Gibson, Steven Pienaar and Bryan Oviedo also remained on Merseyside and Martinez believes it is too early to know if any of the absentees will return at White Hart Lane. He added: “They all have a small chance to be involved on Sunday, but it is very difficult at this stage to tell which ones have a realistic chance of being match fit.” |
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