Everton midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson could potentially miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee ligament damage in their 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park on Saturday. According to recent reports, the Icelandic midfielder has seen a specialist on Monday amid speculation claiming that he will be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign. His recent injury setback has also made his participation in the 2018 FIFA World Cup uncertain.
Sigurdsson played the full 90 minutes in the Toffees’ last league outing but it has emerged that he may have damaged his ligaments during the course of the match. With the 2018 FIFA World Cup kicking off in Russia later this year, it will be a huge blow for Everton as well as the Iceland national team as they are now set to be without the services of the 28-year-old for the immediate future. In a recent interview, his brother Olafur Mar Sigurdsson has addressed his injury and disclosed that he has damaged the joint of the right knee.
Everton also released a statement regarding his current condition which read,
“It is anticipated the 28-year-old Icelandic international could be sidelined for several weeks but it will only be after consulting with the specialist that a definitive time frame will be known,”
The £45m club-record signing had to go through a difficult start to his Everton career having completed his switch from Swansea last summer. The expectations were high upon his arrival in Merseyside but he has flattered to deceive during the course of this campaign. His fortunes have improved since Sam Allardyce has taken charge of the club in November last year, scoring five of his seven goals in 17 appearances since then.
The Merseyside outfit are currently sitting in 9th place in the Premier League standings with a tally of 37 points in 30 matches. They are a massive six points behind Burnley who are sitting in 7th place with an away match versus Stoke City looming on the horizon.
The loss of Sigurdsson will be a big blow to Everton’s chances of clinching a top-seven finish in the league this season. Having said that, his injury will be an even bigger blow to Iceland’s chances of having a successful World Cup later this year. He has scored 6 goals and provided 5 assists in 33 appearances for the Toffees this season across all competitions.
His international record for Iceland is sensational, to say the least. He has earned 55 international caps for Iceland and has scored 18 goals for his country so far. It remains to be seen what lies ahead in the future of Sigurdsson and whether his injury will keep him out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
