Frank Lampard has revealed that Abdoulaye Doucoure could return for Everton against Manchester City next weekend - and believes his side must find a way to test the opposition more away from home.
Doucoure has missed each of the Blues' four matches under Lampard so far after sustaining a groin injury in the 1-0 loss to Aston Villa last month.
The midfielder has made 16 Premier League appearances over the course of 2021/22 season so far, bagging two goals and four assists in that time.
Everton released a short video clip on Twitter on Thursday showing Doucoure taking part in the warm-up as his team-mates prepared for their trip to face Southampton.
And Lampard is hopeful that the former Watford man will be available to take on City at Goodison Park on Saturday - and believes his return would give him more options in midfield.
“Since I’ve been here at the club we’ve got injuries to big players. We’re missing Ben Godfrey today, missing (Abdoulaye) Doucoure, missing Demarai Gray, Fabian Delph,” Lampard said when asked about the upcoming clash with City.
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“What I am saying is that they are big players for the club and sometimes your decisions are half made for you by the injuries in the squad.
“And the rest of them are made for you by things you want to select for the game. So we will have to see who is able and ready.
“Doucoure might be close to being fit for the game, and that will give me different midfield options. We weren’t good enough in midfield today. That’s the job for us in the week to get right.”
Stuart Armstrong and Shane Long scored rare Premier League goals to give Southampton a deserved 2-0 win over the Blues on Saturday afternoon.
And despite scoring four against Brentford, and three against Leeds United in Lampard’s two home games in charge, the Blues have found clear cut-chances hard to come by on the road.
Everton had nine attempts but directed none on target at St Mary’s, while they managed just three efforts on target in the 3-1 defeat to Newcastle United at St. James' Park earlier this month.
“In both home games [Brentford and Leeds] we’ve been testing the keeper all over the place,” Lampard replied when asked about his side’s struggles in front of goal.
“What is that? Do we need our 40,000 fans, that incredible support at home? It is great when we are at home but when we go away we have to find another way.
“That isn’t an overnight change. Southampton have been together for four years [under manager Ralph Hasenhuttl] and had their own difficult periods. It takes time from a coaching point of view.
“But in terms of results, we haven’t got that much time, so we have to find ways. There is a long way to go, we have games on our side and we must stay in the Premier League.
“But there in no point in me and the players looking at the bigger picture, rather than addressing what is right in front of us."
The defeat on the South Coast leaves Everton just four points above the drop zone.
And Lampard said: "I am here for a reason because we are down in a position we don't want to be in. In the two games at Goodison I have seen some really good things, in the two games away, not so much.
"We started the second half brightly. An individual mistake demands a reaction, not just a playing reaction but a mentality reaction and I didn't feel that from them [the players] today.
“I know they are good lads and want to react but sometimes when you have been in a hard run away from home it is easy to seep back into. The players need to understand that second half is not good enough.
“It is not good enough to lose second balls consistently, it is not good enough to try and miss out [midfield] and play to the strikers.
"It has to be an option but it can't be the way we play. We will have days like this. It is important to learn the lessons.
"I had to speak to them because I have been very positive and as staff we have had an uplift. But today we drifted back into being a team I don't want us to be so the players need to hear it. You learn more from a defeat than a win."
