Lacina Traore Injury: Updates on Everton Star's Status and Return

Updates from Friday, May 9

Lacina Traore could feature in Everton's final game of the season, according to Roberto Martinez.

The club's official Twitter reported ahead of the clash with Hull:

Updates from Thursday, April 24

Lacina Traore is not expected to play again this season, Everton boss Roberto Martinez confessed on Thursday.

The Toffees' official Twitter noted:

Updates from Tuesday, March 18

Roberto Martinez says he expects Lacina Traore to return to the Everton squad before the end of the season.

Everton's official website reports:

"

He is progressing really well. He has had the first part of the treatment and his recovery is quicker than we expected, so we are very pleased.

His attitude has been very much focused on coming back and playing before the season ends, which we are very much looking forward to.

He is desperate to carry on after starting so well with the goal against Swansea in the FA Cup. The signs are very good that we will see Lacina in an Everton shirt before the season ends.

 

"

Updates from Tuesday, March 4

Lacina Traore is now feared to miss the next two months of the season, according to the Liverpool Echo's Greg O'Keeffe:

Everton's official Twitter feed later added:

Updates from Tuesday, Feb. 25

Roberto Martinez expects Lacina Traore to be out for "weeks not months," confirmed he picked up a hamstring problem ahead of Everton's loss to Chelsea.

Martinez was quoted saying by Everton's official website:

"

It is going to take a long period of time which at this stage of the season will be a big miss. It will be weeks rather than months.

It’s a really disappointing outcome. He was ready and had been working really hard since he arrived at the club. Starting the game at Chelsea was the next target after Swansea and for him to pull his hamstring in the last action of the warm-up was a really disappointing moment.

We are a little bit concerned. We are working with his parent club and making sure we get the right diagnosis. Lacina was really down after and we need to support him. We will find out over the next 48 hours how we will treat the injury.

"

Original Text

Everton's striker Lacina Traore faces a potential spell on the sidelines after he was forced out of his side's trip to Chelsea, pulling up during the warm-up.

The on-loan Monaco striker has yet to feature for the Toffees in the Premier League this term, and that statistic appears set to be extended after his latest injury setback.

In the build-up to the Toffees' trip to Stamford Bridge, BT Sport tweeted of Traore's downfall as he prepared to take on the Londoners:

ESPN football writer Miguel Delaney also tweeted of Traore's injury, showing a picture of the striker taking his place on the bench:

It's a big blow for Everton boss Roberto Martinez, who brought the striker in on loan to bolster the squad's attacking options and take the pressure off Romelu Lukaku.

Traore scored on his full cup debut in the side's 3-1 FA Cup win over Swansea City, just two weeks after his loan move from France:

According to Metro's Jamie Sanderson, Traore limped off from the pitch due to a hamstring injury, which adds to a growing list of problems faced by the striker since his January switch to Goodison Park.

Problems highlighted, too, by the club's decision to sell Nikica Jelavic to Hull City, leaving just Steven Naismith and Gerard Deulofeu as Martinez's fully-fit attacking options.

However, per PhysioRoom.com, Lukaku is set to return to match action at the beginning of next month as his return from a foot injury gathers pace, which will be a welcome boost for Martinez.

Scott Heavey/Getty Images

His side still harbour top-four ambitions this term and sat five points behind Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand over the North London outfit and fourth-placed Liverpool prior to Saturday's clash with Chelsea.

With games against West Ham, Cardiff, Swansea and Fulham next month, Martinez will be hoping for a quick return for Aruna Kone and Traore, as he looks to plot his side's way into the Champions League in just his first season with the club.

Martinez spoke after Traore's FA Cup strike, telling TalkSport's Dom Bryant that it was a great sign for the future:

"

For Lacina Traore to play 60 minutes was a real success for us. He’s been working really hard behind the scenes and for us to get 60 minutes was the target. 

For him to be able to play against a team like Swansea was a real nightmare for a striker coming into our league. I thought he coped with the instructions for the team off the ball really well.

And he then scored within two minutes of his new career at Everton so it’s a beautiful sign for the future.

"

Fans will know all too well of Traore's pedigree in front of goal, with 13 goals in 29 games for Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala earning him a four-year deal with Monaco.

Martinez, too, will no doubt be hoping that his magic sponge can do wonders once again and get his recent recruit back into the starting XI.