Sean Dyche will use a combination of science and psychology to get Dominic Calvert-Lewin ready to punch his weight once more in the relegation scrap.
The Everton striker is back in training at the club’s Finch Farm complex, almost four weeks after a hamstring niggle sidelined him just a game into Dyche’s tenure as the new manager.
The Blues boss will be cautious in waiting until the club’s medics and Calvert-Lewin himself agree the time is right for a return, with Dyche explaining the England forward’s own mind will be key to his fitness. Dyche revealed there is an insights team at the club that will check all the data and physical markers, and he said: “You can imagine now we have got every stat you can virtually think of.
“We have got an insights team that has probably got as much depth as other clubs as well, even the ones who are onto every physical stat.
“We can do that, check his records, check where he was at when he was flying, where his body was at - but we speak to the player too, that’s important.
“He is a human being and I believe in asking the player, going 'right, where are you at with it?' And usually when they feel right about it, it is a massive plus.”
Dyche revealed that his centre forward - who looks key to Everton’s survival hopes - is in a good place mentally despite two years of injury woes which have blighted his career.
And the Everton manager said: “You know the saying, (about doing the same thing) and expecting a different outcome? Well, I’ve got to look at something different with Dominic, and it seems the different thing is time.
“That is unfortunate but that is a fact.
"I've looked at the stats, I've looked at the recovery periods, I've looked at how quickly he has gone into games, probably being desperate to play, and sometimes they make a decision too early.
“I've got to learn from the past, because if we do the same thing again, and something happens again, well then you haven't learnt anything, you haven't done anything different, so we have got to look at that."