Injury crisis for Toffees

Everton face going into their Barclays Premiership clash with Portsmouth at Fratton Park without nine injured players.

It is an injury crisis which has been growing for a couple of weeks and worsened with confirmation that Mikel Arteta is out for two weeks while Leon Osman will miss the trip to the south coast.

Osman suffered his hamstring injury after scoring the first goal last weekend in the 2-0 win over West Ham.

Blues boss David Moyes is particularly disappointed to have lost Osman, saying: “Ossie took his goal against West Ham well and he has been getting back to the levels we want from him.

“He took a while to get going last season and the same thing has happened this term. But his form has improved so it is a bad blow that he now has to miss out through injury.

“Ossie was a very effective player for us last term and he had started to do well this term.”

Arteta’s misery comes from a freak training ground incident when the usually deft midfielder managed to kick the ground rather than the ball, and suffered a painful ankle strain.

Moyes will have Simon Davies back in the squad, the Welshman having missed two matches following a family bereavement.

Although a welcomed return, Moyes needs more of his walking wounded back quickly if Everton are to sustain any threat of taking a European spot.

The opportunity is there. Everton are in seventh, but only one point separates seven clubs below Manchester United and Chelsea.

There is a prospect that Phil Neville may shake off a knee injury, but Everton are not over-hopeful.

Osman and Arteta have been added to a lengthening injury list that also includes Tim Cahill, Gary Naysmith, Paddy Boyle, Victor Anichebe, Alessandro Pistone and Tony Hibbert.

Moyes’ resources are severely stretched, which means Andy van der Meyde is likely to retain his place in the side, while young Icelandic midfielder Bjarni Vidarsson could have his first senior team start.

The Everton boss admits to be considering loan signings in the transfer window to shore up his paper-thin squad. Everton, who will announce a £10m (€14.8m) loss at Monday’s annual general meeting, are not awash with money and loans seem the only option.

Moyes said: “We would all be happy if it was a case of getting a couple of players in on loan.

“We are definitely down on numbers especially seeing as we lost Kevin Kilbane (to Wigan) on transfer deadline day and that really put us just under pressure regarding numbers.

“We feel that if we can get ourselves through to Christmas, in January we hope to maybe try and get one or two people in.”