Everton will be without defender Leighton Baines for much of the pre-season tour of the Far East after the club revealed that the left back had undergone an ankle surgery. Roberto Martinez has already stated that Baines has been suffering from an injury to his left ankle for several years.
However, he has been unable to correct them due to a consistent run of matches for club and the international team. Baines went under the knife towards the end of last season. This forced him to miss the last two games of the league, while also being unavailable for England duty during the Euro 2016 qualifying game against Slovenia.
It appears that he has still not recovered full fitness in order to be able to train with the team. The performances of the 30-year-old has certainly dropped compared to the figures four or five years ago. However, he continues to still retain an important status in the team.
Now that he has hit 30 years of age, the valuations are likely to drop – and he is still being tipped by some experts to move to a Champions League club in the close-season. Aside from the absence of the England left back, Martinez will also be without Bryan Oviedo and Darron Gibson.
“Leighton Baines, Darron Gibson and Bryan Oviedo are missing from the squad, with the trio recovering from injuries which saw them miss the end of the 2014-15 campaign,” read a statement on Everton’s official site. The club will be having pre-season friendly matches against the likes of Swindon Town. Due to the absence of Europa league football, the club can concentrate on focusing on the opening Premier League game against Watford. The game is scheduled on August 8 and will be at the Goodison Park.