Everton sweat on Johnson fitness

Aug 22 2007 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post

EVERTON are battling to avoid a striker crisis for Saturday’s game with Blackburn Rovers after Andrew Johnson withdrew from tonight’s England friendly against Germany due to fluid on the knee.

Johnson, who was hoping to figure in the match at Wembley, was rushed back to Bellefield yesterday where he will now undergo treatment in a bid to get him fit for Saturday’s Barclays Premier League encounter at Goodison Park.

If Johnson fails to recover in time, Everton face the prospect of playing Mark Hughes’s side with just James McFadden available among his senior forwards.

James Vaughan is expected to be out for at least another three months with a dislocated shoulder while fellow teenager Victor Anichebe – who has started all three of the club’s games so far this season – limped out of Everton’s 1-0 defeat at Reading last Saturday after jarring his ankle.

Everton’s striker problems could be eased if they manage to complete a deal for Middlesbrough’s unsettled Nigerian international Aiyegbeni Yakubu ahead of the weekend.

Everton have not given up hope of securing Yakubu despite a wrangle over his price tag.

The two clubs are understood to be £1million apart in their respective valuations of a player who cost the Teessiders £7.5m when he headed for the Riverside Stadium from Portsmouth in July, 2005.

However, discussions are ongoing and speculation that a breakthrough could be imminent grew when it emerged that Yakubu, who did not figure in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Fulham, did not train with his Boroteam-mates either yesterday or on Monday.

Yakubu’s future has been a topic for debate all summer despite Gareth Southgate’s repeated insistence he wants to keep him.

However, the feeling on Teesside has been for some time that he could be prepared to let him go at the right price provided a replacement could be found.

Everton’s interest has been stepped up in recent days, although they are yet to meet the asking price, thought to be in the region of £11m, with former club Portsmouth and Manchester City also monitoring the Nigeria international’s situation.

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate, who has just spent £6million on Mido, has been credited with an interest in Heerenveen’s Brazilian hitman Afonso Alves, while the Teessiders are understood to have watched PSV Eindhoven duo Arouna Kone and Jefferson Farfan.

There have also been links with Alves’ compatriot Fred, who is being tipped to leave French champions Lyon, and another Brazilian, CSKA Moscow’s Wagner Love, who has also been touted as an alternative to Yakubu at Goodison.

Meanwhile, Everton are hoping that Australian international midfielder Tim Cahill will be back fit by the end of September.

However, the club will be monitoring his progress closely after physio Mick Rathbone warned that the incredible spring Cahill generates may have contributed to him twice suffering a broken foot.

He said: “Tim jumps very high and unfortunately has a habit of landing on his left foot.

“So like at Sheffield United when he landed and overbalanced, he cracked it.

“It was similar against Werder Bremen, albeit five months after and he had trained every day for a month and played three games for Australia.

“But with that kind of force going through it, it just caused a little injury to the site again.

“So while we’re happy he’ll soon be back training, it is in our minds that he has to jump and land on that.”

Cahill is eager to get back into training, but Everton are urging caution in order to avoid any recurrence.

“He’s walking round with no symptoms at all now,” added Rathbone.

“It’s so frustrating. We’re looking for six-to-12 weeks on that.

“Getting him back into training isn’t so bad, getting him back running round isn’t a problem, but getting him jumping like he does, and landing full force on the outside of his left foot, it’s going to be a while before it’s going to be strong enough to be able to do that.”