Tim Cahill opts for modified boots to avoid new injury

Oct 28 2007

Tim Cahill (320)

Everton midfielder Tim Cahill has modified his boots in a bid to avoid another curse of the dreaded metatarsal.

The Australia midfielder, 27, sustained a metatarsal injury at Sheffield United on March 3 and then aggravated it in a friendly against Werder Bremen at the end of July.

But, having made a goalscoring return to action in Thursday’s 3-1 UEFA Cup victory against Greek outfit Larissa, Cahill is determined to stay fit.

Toffees boss David Moyes believes modern lightweight boots are a factor in the increase in foot injuries, with Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham among several players to have suffered metatarsal injuries.

Accordingly, Cahill has made adjustments to his boots, saying: “I’ve just put a bit more protection on them to help me change my running style and transfer the weight away from my fifth metatarsal.

“They seem to be doing well but only time will tell.

“They have had to stiffen the sole and shaved the studs right down.

“The grounds these days are really hard, even at Goodison, so I’m just trying to find a happy medium.”

Cahill proved his goalscoring instinct remains firmly intact with a delightful diving header against Larissa.

The result encouraged hopes on the blue half of Merseyside that Everton are ready to make a serious impact on this season’s UEFA Cup.

“Europe is very important to us because it is probably the thing that we’ve been missing,” said Cahill, who signed a new five-year deal in the summer.

“We’ve been so close yet so far away and this is the added ingredient that we need.

“We’ve done well in the league in the last few seasons but doing well in Europe is what the fans and players like myself have been waiting for.

“I’ve always wanted to play in Europe and this is a massive boost for myself and the reason why I re-signed.

“This is possibly the next level for this football club.

“We’re pretty much established in the Premier League and the next level was to get to Europe and to try to make this a stepping stone to even greater things.”