David Moyes rues Mikel Arteta absence

May 2 2008

Everton manager David Moyes’ bad luck with injuries has continued with midfielder Mikel Arteta being ruled out for their remaining two matches of the season.

The Spaniard has been struggling with a stomach and groin injury since the end of last year and despite returning to his homeland for treatment the problem has not improved.

Arteta returned to England and came on as a second-half substitute in last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Aston Villa but could not train properly this week.

With James Vaughan (knee) and Tim Cahill (foot) having previously had their seasons ended prematurely, Arteta’s absence for Sunday’s clash at Arsenal and next weekend’s visit of Newcastle is yet another blow in the Toffees’ bid to secure fifth place in the Barclays Premier League.

Moyes was obviously disappointed to lose one of his better, more creative, players for the crucial end to the campaign.

"He has had an injury which he has not been comfortable with since probably before Christmas," said the Everton manager.

"We have given him opportunities to go back to Spain and see a specialist he wants to work with there but he is not comfortable with it either now so in fairness we have to say he is not available.

"He came on in the game on Sunday and he came back to training and hasn’t felt good for a couple of days so really we are ruling him out until the end of the season and until the start of the next.

"Mikel feels it after games more so. He feels sore with it and doesn’t feel comfortable.

"He’s played some games, he’s missed some training and I think it has affected his form.

"But it does not require surgery. He has had some rest and has been getting some treatment.

"We will do everything we can - he has done everything he can to get himself fit and it has just not happened."

Moyes accepted the injuries to important players had affected their now failed challenge for fourth in the league and was threatening to scupper their hopes of holding on to fifth, with in-form Villa just three points behind.

"It has impacted on us more since January. It didn’t affect our form initially but when you lose players over a lengthy period it does," said the Toffees boss.

"If you are missing players for a week or two weeks you can get through it but when you lose your better players from the team it does have an impact."

From a positive point of view, Moyes has learned lessons from the injury problems to his small squad and is determined not to allow a repetition next season by boosting his playing staff in the summer.

"I want us to be strong and continue to progress and we need to do that," he added.

"We need to have an even stronger squad. At the start of this season we strengthened the squad and I think it showed by the performances we put in but maybe since January it has been a bit of a drain on us.

"You learn from it and hopefully we can do better next season.

"Quality will always be first but I think quantity as well is required."

Moyes also revealed he had passed on his congratulations to fellow Scot Walter Smith after Rangers booked their place in the UEFA Cup final on Thursday night with victory over Fiorentina.

And he has offered his support to Smith if he needs help preparing for the final against Zenit St Petersburg - whom Everton beat earlier in the tournament.

"I left him a message. My congratulations go to him and Rangers for getting to the UEFA Cup final," said Moyes, who admits a slight pang of regret his side did not make it.

"We played Zenit and if he needs any information we can provide it. I spoke to him before they played Fiorentina (who knocked out Everton) and I think the game very much went to plan.

"It does make it a bit galling. It is a long competition and not always - and I’m saying this with respect - the best team gets to the final.

"You need a little bit of luck and good fortune along the way."