Martinez: Mori could make his debut at left-back

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has said that Ramiro Funes Mori could make his debut at left-back against Chelsea, with Bryan Oviedo and Brendan Galloway both struggling for fitness.

Galloway comes back into the squad and should be available, while Oviedo recently pulled out of representing his country and they should know more shortly, so Mori could play after representing Argentina during the recent international break.

“With Bryan, it’s difficult. We all know how proud he is to represent Costa Rica and the moment he couldn’t make the squad, we knew it was something that we had to pay attention to and get to the bottom of. I don’t know if the weekend is too early or not – we’ll find out over the next 48 hours.

“I think Brendan is progressing well and should be available, in the same way that Ramiro Funes Mori could become available. He’s someone that has played in that position before. Being a left-footed defender, he has played in those positions.

“The way I see Ramiro, he is able to play in any of those positions when he is needed, so in that respect it is about assessing how he feels. It’s a long journey coming back on Thursday morning and we’ll assess that from a physical point of view.”

“The reports that we have had so far has been very positive,” said Martinez. “We are going to see how James McCarthy comes back because he had a little bit of a problem in his tendon in knee before he joined the international setup but he got through the games really well. So in that respect we are quite positive.

“Tim Howard wasn’t involved as planned [for the United States] – he was just joining the group again and getting ready for the next phase of international football.

“He and Ramiro are the only two left to arrive back at the training ground so hopefully we’ll get good news from those two.”

Should Mori be risked at left-back against Chelsea?

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