Fears that Orel Mangala damaged ligaments in his knee during Everton’s game against Brighton last Saturday appear to have been confirmed by the Belgian press.
The midfielder remained prone on the turf at the Amex Community Stadium after a heavy challenge with an opponent late in the Blues’ 1-0 win and hobbled off in visible pain.
Early indications suggested that he had suffered a serious knee injury and a report by Het Nieuws Blad in his native Belgium claims that scans on his knee have confirmed that he has ruptuered his anterior cruciate ligement.
That will involve surgery and at least six months on the sidelines, prematurely ending both his season and his increasingly productive loan spell at Everton.
The news comes as a huge blow to both the player and the Club who will very likely to be forced into the transfer market for both a centre-forward and a central midfielder after Dominic Calvert-Lewin was forced off earlier in the same match with a torn hamstring.
Everton have an option to make Mangala’s loan move from Lyon permanent this summer but both the nature of the injury and the lenghthy rehabilitation required will have thrown his future with the Blues into considerable doubt.
Mangala is a very tidy midfielder who does the basics well.
He starts most of our patterns of play, is productive in his passing, and he is the outball for the keeper and defence. He also has a decent shot on him.
He is one of those players who you only really miss when they are unavailable. I think his absence will cause us issues unless Garner is ready, as I don’t see Gueye, Doucs, or Tim Iro filling that role with confidence.
