Injured duo to boost Toffees
24 Apr 2008 - 08:57:20
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- Injured duo to boost Toffees
Everton are set to welcome injured duo Leon Osman and Mikel Arteta back for Sunday's crunch Premier League clash with Aston Villa.
The midfield duo have sat out the last two games with hip and abdominal problems respectively but are expected to be passed fit for the visit of the Midlands club.
The Toffees are currently just three points ahead of Villa in fifth place in the table and the only available UEFA Cup qualifying spot available through the Premier League.
"Leon started training on Monday. We hope he'll be fine," manager David Moyes told the club's official website.
"Mikel is still in Spain. We've been speaking with him regularly. He'll be back on Friday and hopefully will be available."
Meanwhile, Moyes has reassured Leighton Baines that he has a bright future at Goodison Park despite starting just 13 league games since his £6million arrival from Wigan Athletic last summer.
"At times this season, we have struggled with the stature of the team and it has been unfortunate that Leighton has been the one to suffer," he continued.
"It's not got anything to do with how he has played or anything else. We have just wanted a bit more stature at the back in certain matches and we've played Joleon (Lescott) at left-back.
"It might be that we need to find players with bigger stature elsewhere to get Leighton into the team again much more in the future.
"But I have spoken with him a couple of times and explained the situation.
"He knows what we think about him and he will be here for many years to come."