New youngsters involved
Seeing a crop of Everton's academy talent taking part in first-team training sessions is hardly a surprise anymore. Players such as Lewis Dobbin have become a regular fixture over the course of the current campaign.
However, other players from the under-23s have been on something of a constant rotation to get time working with Frank Lampard and his squad. The latest set of images from Finch Farm are no different.
In particular the eye is drawn to both Stanley Mills and Sean McAllister being involved in the latest session. They join the likes of Dobbin, Isaac Price and Kyle John in stepping up with the senior squad in the build-up to Sunday's match against West Ham United.
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Mills, in particular, has had an impressive season with David Unsworth's side so far, showing his quality and his versatility in multiple positions over the course of the campaign. He's bagged three goals and as many assists in 21 Premier League 2 appearances, and now looks to be trying to impress Lampard.
Perhaps that could mean a place on the bench in future weeks, or perhaps even for this weekend's trip to London. Only time will tell in that sense.
Possible absences
Youngsters being involved in training sessions can often point to the fact that there are still injury absences among the senior ranks. Sometimes training pictures don't give a fair reflection of this, it must be said, as it might just be coincidence that certain players have not been caught on camera on a particular day.
But Evertonians know that Yerry Mina still, unfortunately, has time left before he can be considered in contention once more. Due to that, he was not part of the latest set of images.
Andros Townsend is also, of course, sidelined for the foreseeable future. The winger had surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury picked up against Crystal Palace last time out, which has ruled him out for the rest of the campaign.
Interestingly, though, there was seemingly no sign of Fabian Delph on any of the latest pictures released from Finch Farm. The midfielder was seemingly back in training with his team-mates at the beginning of the international break, but there was no sign of him this time around.
Again, that could just be a coincidence. But Everton fans will no doubt be a little bit wary given the injury history Delph has had during his time at Goodison Park.
Returning internationals
What was good to see for supporters, however, is that those who went away with their international sides were back in action. Richarlison, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Anthony Gordon and Nathan Patterson were all pictured in training in the build-up to the match against West Ham.
The quartet might have had differing fortunes over the course of the last couple of weeks but they should be returning to their club full of confidence. Both Richarlison and Gordon found the back of the net for their respective countries, while Patterson started both matches for Scotland as he bids to secure Everton's right-back berth in the future.
It's yet to be seen how many of them will start in what is a crucial clash at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon. However, a lot of Evertonians would no doubt make a real case for every one of them being given the nod.
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Left-back hint
Another player that many Evertonians would like to see given another opportunity is Vitalii Mykolenko. The January transfer signing is the club's only out-and-out left-back, but has been carefully managed since his move to Goodison Park in the winter.
Whether that is due to his adaptation to a new country and new way of life in the Premier League, or due to the on-going situation in his native Ukraine, you can see that it has generally been a good call from the club. The decision on whether the defender has been in the right position to play has seemingly been a very mutual conversation between the player and coaching staff.
But perhaps a few images in particular might suggest a potential starting role for Mykolenko this weekend. A number of recent pictures from Finch Farm see him deep in conversation with Blues coach Ashley Cole - who obviously knows a thing or two about the position of left-back.
In recent weeks, Jonjoe Kenny has been seen in similar conversations with Cole before he has lined up on the left side of defence. Perhaps the coach was giving the Ukraine international some pointers ahead of a possible start this weekend.
