Everton have had several injury concerns over the Premier League season so far, although a new update has emerged which will give the squad a much-needed boost ahead of their return to action after Christmas.
What’s the latest?
Ben Godfrey has been out of action for the Toffees since he picked up a nasty leg fracture during the opening game of the season, but an update from the club’s official Twitter channel on Friday gave supporters a glimpse of the player back in training.
The club confirmed the centre-back’s return to full team training in a simple five-word tweet alongside a video of Godfrey, with the caption: “Ready and raring to go”
It’s good news for Lampard
There is no doubt that the return of Godfrey is good news for Lampard, as it will give the 44-year-old more depth and options in the back four over the second half of the season.
Everton are currently 17th in the Premier League after a run of poor performances and have now found themselves teetering on the edge of the relegation zone, just one point clear of the bottom three.
The former Chelsea boss will be hoping that the World Cup break will have given his squad the rest that they need in order to come back fighting when the Toffees face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day.
Indeed, Lampard struck gold with the summer signings of Conor Coady and James Tarkowski, with the duo forming a flourishing and powerful centre-back partnership at Goodison Park, which has solved a lot of the defensive issues which plagued Everton last season.
Having conceded 66 league goals in 2021/22, they have shipped just 17 in their first 15 games this time around, which averaged out over a full season would end up at 43.
However, the recovery of Godfrey will give the manager the opportunity to rotate his team with quality depth, as the defender has been one of the more consistent and reliable players for the Goodison Park outfit.
Across 23 appearances last season, the 24-year-old won 56% of his duels, completed 75% of his dribbles and kept four of Everton’s eight clean sheets when he was in the team, also averaging two tackles, four clearances and 23.5 accurate passes per game.
With that in mind, Godfrey’s availability will surely be warmly welcomed at Goodison Park as the team endeavours to improve their performances on the pitch over the second half of the season.