• Premier League

Traore expected to stay at Everton following fitness boost

Lacina Traore is expected to be sidelined for around six to eight weeks according to Roberto Martinez © PA Photos

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Lacina Traore will complete his loan stint at Everton after tests revealed he does not need surgery on a hamstring injury, the club have confirmed.

Traore is expected to be out for another six weeks after pulling up with the problem on February 22.

Manager Roberto Martinez had raised concerns that the injury, sustained in the warm-up before the 1-0 Premier League defeat at Chelsea, would rule out Traore for the rest of the season.

That would have brought an early end to the striker's stay at the club as he is only on loan from Monaco until May.

Instead, he is on course to return in mid-April, which would make him available for Everton's final Premier League matches and the FA Cup final, should they get there. Traore has played just once for Everton since arriving from Monaco on January 24.

A separate hamstring injury - sustained in December, before his move - initially delayed his debut. He recovered to score in the 3-1 FA Cup fifth-round victory over Swansea on February 16, but suffered a new setback just six days later.

"With Lacina, we've seen the specialists and we're now ready to proceed with what's going to be the best treatment for Lacina, and it's not going to be surgery, which is fantastic news," Martinez told the club's official website.

"It's fantastic news that he doesn't need to go down that route, as that means he's going to be available for the end of the season. We're expecting between six and eight weeks to be the period he needs to be recovering, but we're all very positive."

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