Everton captain Phil Neville expects to be fit for Saturday's testing Barclays Premier League trip to Chelsea.
The influential former England international was forced to miss last weekend's 4-1 defeat to West Brom with a knee problem.
The 33-year-old told the club's website, www.evertonfc.com: "The injury is coming on. It has taken longer than I thought to clear up but I should be back for the weekend."
He added: "It was stiff after Sunderland and, having played that game, I probably knew I would miss West Brom but I should be back in full training by the middle of the week and then back in to face Chelsea."
Everton are in need of a lift after their heavy loss to the Baggies and a run of five games without a win.
The Toffees have slipped back to 16th in the table and are just two points above the bottom three.
Neville added: "I think everyone is disappointed but the good thing is we are all taking responsibility for a poor performance.
"There is no finger-pointing, no blaming each other and we all know it is not good enough.
"Under this manager there is no other way to sort it out than through sheer hard work.
"The boys have been on the training field again, working hard and we all want to put it right."
Source: PA
