Sam Allardyce says there’s no timeframe on Gylfi Sigurdsson’s return from injury but the midfielder could return earlier than planned.
Sigurdsson suffered a knee injury during the win over Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend and needed a specialist to determine just how long he would be sidelined.
On Wednesday, Everton released a statement on the club’s website stating that the Icelandic playmaker would out for between “six to eight weeks" with the knee injury.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s trip to Stoke City, Allardyce told the media: "It's an unfortunate trauma injury. When you can't avoid an injury like this then you have to look at the recovery time.
“It's been a tough time all year with injuries and that has certainly had an effect on our away results and performances.”
“You cannot predict the length of an injury in its entirety,” the Everton boss added. "It can be shorter than that (the six to eight weeks mentioned)."
“You want to avoid setbacks”
The Everton boss also added that the Blues want to avoid any setbacks with Sigurdsson’s injury and that the midfielder wants to return in time for the World Cup in Russia with his native Iceland.
“I’ve always felt it’s wrong to tag an injury with time limits. You want to avoid setbacks,” Allardyce said.
“If you can get it before then you’ve done well. We’ll look at it in the next two weeks. There’s a settling down period and then how quickly the player recovers. Gylfi is motivated to return for us and Iceland at the World Cup.”
Sigurdsson could return in time for the closing end of the Premier League season.
The earliest game that he could possibly return for would be the trip to face Huddersfield Town at the end of April.
It’s also possible he returns for the final day of the season, an away trip to West Ham United, as he looks to build his fitness back up before departing for the World Cup.