James Garner Faces Race to Be Fit for Everton’s Premier League Kick-off

Everton’s best midfielder last season is suddenly a doubt for the first whistle of the new campaign.

James Garner has undergone surgery on a groin problem picked up in the opening days of pre-season, leaving Sean Dyche without one of his key players at a time when his midfield is already being rebuilt.

The issue first surfaced when Garner missed Everton’s opening pre-season friendly against Dundee, the club initially insisting the problem would be assessed over the following days. Those checks escalated. Specialists were consulted, and the decision was taken to send the 23-year-old for an operation.

The club say the procedure went well. Garner has already started rehabilitation work at Finch Farm and Everton are targeting a return to first-team training around the opening week of the Premier League season, dependent on how his recovery progresses.

That timeline puts him in a tight race to be ready for competitive action. Back on the grass does not automatically mean match sharp, and Dyche knows exactly how much running and intensity he asks of his midfielders.

Everton set out their position in a statement: “The Blues midfielder has begun his rehabilitation at Finch Farm and is progressing as expected, with a return to first-team training being targeted around the opening week of the Premier League season, subject to his continued recovery.”

The timing is awkward. Garner’s setback comes just after confirmation that Idrissa Gueye will not return following the expiration of his contract this summer. One experienced option gone, another influential presence now sidelined. It underlines why Everton are understood to be in the market for at least one more midfielder before the window closes.

Garner’s absence was felt again at the weekend, when he was one of several notable names missing from the squad for the friendly at Bolton Wanderers. Tyler Dibling sat out with what the club described as a “minor knock”, while Hayden Hackney, one of three summer signings, was left out as he continues to be “integrated” into the group after his move from Middlesbrough.

Everton expect both Dibling and Hackney to feature in Tuesday’s friendly at Stoke City. Garner will watch that from the treatment room, counting down the days and sessions until he can rejoin a midfield that may look very different by the time he is ready to step back in.