14th March, 2018
Everton’s Iceland midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson is expected to return to action from a knee injury in six to eight weeks, the English Premier League club said on Wednesday.
The club’s statement therefore goes on to allay concerns that he could miss out on the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be hosted by Russia.
Sigurdsson was injured against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, raising doubts about his fitness for the finals in Russia starting in June.
But following a consultation with a specialist the prognosis is not as bad as first feared.
The 28-year-old, who has four league goals and three assists for Everton this season, is Iceland’s main creative force and his absence from the tournament would have been a major blow.
“We’ll continue to assess Gylfi’s progress on a week-to-week basis,” Everton manager Sam Allardyce said on the club website.
“The medical team will work very closely with him… to get him back playing as quickly as possible,” he said.
Iceland are in the same group with the Super Eagles at Russia 2018 along with Argentina and Croatia.
Sigurdsson, a key player for the Icelanders, is expected to lead the country at the tournament.