- Premier League
Gibson playing at risk of injury for Everton
Everton midfielder Darron Gibson is ready to soldier on with a thigh injury that needs surgery in order to help the club's push for Europe.
Gibson is set to have an operation this summer to cure a problem that has forced him to miss 17 games this season. The midfielder has managed to play Everton's last six matches, but has done so in discomfort and could break down at any moment, according to manager David Moyes.
Even so, Moyes is ready to take that risk with the 25-year-old, whom he signed from Manchester United in January 2012.
"I think we are in control of Gibson but there is a danger," Moyes told the Liverpool Echo. "We thought he might have needed an operation earlier in the year but the medical staff have managed it well. We think we can get away with it just now, but he is going to need it sometime.
"It could come at any time. I think he can offer more but maybe it is just the injury holding him back a bit."
Gibson tore his thigh muscle during the early stages of Everton's 2-0 defeat at West Brom on September 1, and did not return to action until late November.
The injury flared up again as Wigan were beaten 2-1 at Goodison Park on Boxing Day, but the midfielder recovered to make a comeback on January 30, and has been involved in all of his side's games since then, even though his injury has not cleared up.
Moyes added: "I don't question his character because he had come from a club that instils that in you. We are not going to let him roll over so we can tickle his belly.
"He is going to have to get up and get on with it and he has done that to be fair to him. The injury has tempered him from shooting and taking corners. That is a big part of his game and at times I have considered not using him but he has done okay. He can get better and I keep trying to prod at him."