James Garner's Race to Fitness for Everton's Premier League Start
Everton’s pre-season has been dealt an early blow, and it concerns one of Sean Dyche’s most reliable performers.
James Garner, a standout in a turbulent campaign last season, has undergone surgery on a groin problem picked up in the opening days of pre-season and is now in a race against time to be ready for the start of the Premier League campaign.
The issue first surfaced when Garner missed Everton’s opening friendly against Dundee last weekend. At the time, the club described it as a groin complaint that needed assessing. Those assessments escalated quickly. Medical checks led to the decision to send the England international for an operation, a move Everton hope will fix the problem decisively rather than leave it lingering into the new season.
The club insist the procedure went to plan. Garner has already begun his rehabilitation at Finch Farm, where staff are working to a tentative timeline that would see him back in first-team training around the opening week of the league season, dependent on how his recovery progresses. It leaves little margin for error.
“Progressing as expected,” is the official line from Everton.
Behind that, though, sits the reality: Dyche may start the campaign without the midfielder who became a cornerstone of his side, valued for his energy, versatility and composure in possession.
The timing is awkward. Garner’s setback follows confirmation that Idrissa Gueye has left the club after his contract expired this summer, stripping more experience and defensive nous from the middle of the pitch. Everton are already understood to be in the market for another midfielder; Garner’s surgery only sharpens that need and adds a layer of urgency to the recruitment drive.
The disruption did not end with Garner. He was one of several notable absentees as Everton continued their preparations with a friendly at Bolton Wanderers on Saturday. Tyler Dibling sat out with what the club described as a “minor knock”, while Hayden Hackney, one of three summer signings, was also missing as he continues to be “integrated” into the squad following his move from Middlesbrough.
Everton expect both Dibling and Hackney to feature in Tuesday’s friendly at Stoke City, a useful checkpoint in pre-season planning. Garner will not be there. His work, for now, is confined to the gym and the treatment room, building strength and mobility, counting down the days.
For Dyche, the equation is clear. He must shape his early-season midfield with no guarantees over when his most influential operator will be fully ready for competitive action. For Garner, the challenge is just as stark: hit every rehabilitation marker and try to ensure that when Everton’s campaign begins, his absence is measured in days rather than weeks.
