How long Dominic Calvert-Lewin is set to miss with hamstring injury
By Mitch Wilks
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is currently on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, and has been left out of Everton's last two fixtures.
The 23-year-old was substituted in Everton's 1-0 defeat to West Ham on New Year's Day and missed the FA Cup win against Rotherham, before being left out of the squad again for the Toffees' recent win at Wolves.
Everton's game with Aston Villa has been postponed because of an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Midlands clubs, but before it was called off, manager Carlo Ancelotti shed further light on Calvert-Lewin's absence.
The Italian admitted that he didn't think Calvert-Lewin would be available for that game, but was confident he had not sustained a 'big' injury.
"He (Calvert-Lewin) had a little problem in the week before the game against West Ham," Ancelotti said, quoted by Sky Sports. ""Because he had not had this type of injury before he was not able to judge it for himself.
"He played all of the game against West Ham so this shows that it is really not a big injury but we want to keep him safe and when he comes back, to be 100 per cent".
Calvert-Lewin has been in fine form so far this season and is the club's top scorer with 14 goals from 19 appearances in all competitions. Their second-top scorer Richarlison has only managed five in comparison and was also injured, but made his return from the bench against Wolves in a 2-1 win.
The injury and subsequent uncertainty surrounding a return date has left fans wondering whether or not Everton should look to the transfer market for somebody to alleviate the goalscoring burden on Calvert-Lewin's shoulders.
Cenk Tosun played against Rotherham in his absence and bagged the opening goal in an eventual 2-1 victory, but the consensus is that the Turkish striker, who has had loan spells away from the club, isn't the answer for Ancelotti. James Rodrguez and Gylfi Sigurdsson were preferred in the Premier League, although the sustainability of the pair as a strike force is questionable.
It's not just Everton fans worrying about Calvert-Lewin, though. News of his injury has frustrated fantasy football players across the globe, with a number of managers relying on his goals to fire them to the top of their respective leagues.
Cheaper options such as Ollie Watkins, Michail Antonio and Patrick Bamford are worth considering, particularly with fixtures piling up for a number of sides.