Everton of England in-form utility player, Alex Iwobi is bound to storm back for The Toffees in this weekend’s English FA Cup clash with English Championship side, Rotherham United, megasportsarena.com gathered.
This much has been revealed by Everton coach, Carlo Ancelotti, while explaining that Iwobi was rested for last weekend’s home defeat by West Ham United as a precaution against burning out, following some fitness issues noticed in the back-to-form Super Eagles’ star.
Iwobi, who made his professional debut for Arsenal in a League Cup game against Sheffield Wednesday in October 2015, is still five matches away from reaching a 200-game milestone for English clubs after missing Friday’s loss to The Hammers.
For the first time in eight EPL matches, Iwobi was not in Everton’s matchday squad as they were beaten 1-0 by West Ham at Goodison Park on New Year’s Day, and Ancelotti explained that the Nigerian playmaker was not available for selection due to fatigue.
With the former Arsenal under-21 team captain having started each of The Toffees’ previous eight matches in all competitions and now playing in an unfamiliar right-wing-back position, the erstwhile inconsistent Iwobi has become very pivotal in Ancelotti’s tactics.
However, without Iwobi in the squad, Everton failed to win for the first time in five EPL games, as Tomas Soucek pounced to score from close range in the 86th minute to hand David Moyes his first win as a visiting manager to Goodison Park; and Ancelotti disclosed afterwards that the Nigerian star is in contention for the FA Cup clash versus Rotherham on January 9.
It would be another chance for resurgence by Iwobi, who started the previous seven matches in the top-flight but was not included in The Toffees’ matchday 20 squad, with Richarlison given the nod in place of the Nigeria international.
With the exception of the opening day win away to Tottenham Hotspur, Iwobi has been in every single game played by The Toffees this term and the former Arsenal star has put in some strong performances in recent weeks, playing in multiple positions, which Ancelotti noted might have accounted for a knock the lad copped in training.
Ancelotti disclosed: “A little problem during the training, (Iwobi) was a little bit tired. I didn’t want to take a risk like Michael Keane that is on the bench, but he played a lot of games, maybe a rest for him could be good.
“Both of them (Iwobi and Keane) will be available for the next game in the FA Cup, it was fatigue, nothing more. Michael, he wasn’t the best, he didn’t train in the last few days but he’s okay and Alex Iwobi he’ll be okay in the next days.”
