• Premier League

Barkley to return to Everton training next week

Ross Barkley is yet to play for Everton this season © Getty Images

Enlarge

Everton midfielder Ross Barkley is set to return to full training next week as he steps up his recovery from a knee injury.

Barkley, 20, has yet to play for the club this season, having suffered medial knee ligament damage in training on August 15, the day before their opening Premier League match at Leicester.

Roberto Martinez is reluctant to say when Barkley will be back in first-team action, pointing out that he will need time to regain match fitness after nearly two months out.

However, the Everton manager is hopeful that Barkley is getting close to a return.

"Ross Barkley is developing well and I hope that he can join the group next week, to start working with the full team as early as next Wednesday," Martinez said, speaking at a news conference ahead of Sunday's trip to Old Trafford.

But asked if Barkley might figure in Everton's first game after the international break, at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League on October 18, Martinez was not so optimistic.

"No. I think that's too early. He will be back to working with the team after the international break," he added. "Then, we don't know how long it is going to take Ross to be able to adapt to match fitness again."

However, there was better news concerning Steven Pienaar, who, having been absent with a groin problem since August, is on course to return when Everton visit Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

Full-back Seamus Coleman could also make a comeback after three games out with a head injury, while midfielder James McCarthy is also in with a chance of figuring after missing Thursday's 1-1 Europa League draw against Krasnodar in Russia with a hamstring problem

However, both players will undergo fitness tests before a final decision is made.

Everton will definitely be without forward Kevin Mirallas, who faces several weeks out after pulling up with a hamstring injury during last Saturday's 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd