Ivorian Everton midfielder out until January

Everton’s £25m summer signing Jean-Philippe Gbamin has been ruled out until January after having surgery on a thigh injury.

Gbamin, 24, has been out of action since August.

The Ivorian figured as a substitute against Crystal Palace on the Premier League’s opening weekend, then started the win against Watford on 17 August.

But he broke down in training before the 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa six days later.

The midfielder, signed from Mainz on 2 August, was back in light training before Everton’s last league game, a 1-0 defeat at Burnley on 5 October, but suffered another setback and has now had an operation in France.

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It is a significant setback for under-pressure Everton manager Marco Silva as well as the Ivory Coast international, who had been brought in to fill the gap left by Idrissa Gueye’s departure to Paris St-Germain.

There were fears at Everton that Gbamin would need surgery when he initially suffered the injury but the club had hoped it would be avoided.-BBC