Everton have had to contend with a huge spate of injuries this season, and Beto has sent a message to the latest player ruled out for its duration.Beto has arguably been a beneficiary of Everton’s ongoing injury crisis this term, becoming an automatic starter as the Blues’ only fit striker and becoming one of the Premier League’s form attackers
With four goals in his last three games seeing the Guinea-Bissau international double his league tally for the Toffees, Beto is relishing a regular run of starts up front and is thriving under David Moyes.
It’s unclear how long Beto will be the sole centre-forward option for Moyes as Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Armando Broja continue their own recoveries, but he’s sent a message to another injured Everton star.
Beto sends message after Orel Mangala developments at Everton
Orel Mangala is one of several Toffees players who have been consigned to the treatment room of late, picking up a knee injury against Brighton on 25 January which had raised fears that his season was over.
Mangala posting on Instagram following successful surgery on that injury (17 February) – the Everton loanee having returned to parent club Lyon in the interregnum – confirms that long-term lay-off.
Numerous current and former team-mates of Mangala’s shared their wishes of goodwill for the midfielder, with Beto commenting “my uncle” in French, alongside two further hand emojis
Everton to miss Orel Mangala for Premier League run-in
Although Moyes’ return to Goodison Park has sparked a huge uptick in the Toffees’ form, with four wins from six games taking them up to 14th in the Premier League table, injuries have still bitten them hard.
While Beto is holding the fort up front in the wake of Calvert-Lewin’s injury, plus Broja and Youssef Chermiti’s absences, Everton have also become increasingly stretched in midfield after Mangala’s injury.
The Belgian international had made 16 starts in all competitions prior to that injury setback against Brighton last month, and leaves Moyes with few options in defensive midfield for the rest of the season.
James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam – both recently returning from lengthy injury lay-offs themselves – could well start every single game for the remainder, unless Abdoulaye Doucoure drops deeper.
Doucoure’s form in the number 10 role didn’t prevent Moyes bringing Carlos Alcaraz into the fold late in the transfer window, but with Everton down on numbers, a further shake-up could be on the cards.
