Jack Grealish is set to return to full training with Everton next week and could be available for their first game after the international break. The 31-year-old, on loan from Manchester City, has missed three matches for the Toffees after failing to report for a training session last month.
Three Games Missed
Grealish was first dropped from David Moyes' squad for the Carabao Cup tie against Newcastle on October 29, then missed Monday's Premier League clash between the two teams. Everton host Coventry on Friday, but Grealish will again not be involved because of a lack of match fitness.
Moyes said in his pre-match press conference: "I wouldn't give you the plan but we will be working with Jack again soon."
Return to Finch Farm
The Athletic reports that Grealish has returned to Everton's training ground, Finch Farm, and the plan is for him to re-join first-team sessions next week. Due to the international break, Everton do not play until Monday, November 23, away to Brentford.
Grealish's absence has sparked debate over his future at Everton, who signed him on loan for a second successive season on transfer deadline day. The 39-time England international will be out of contract at City next summer and is unlikely to be handed a new deal.
Moyes Backs Grealish
Moyes is willing to give Grealish another chance, having recently urged the former Aston Villa captain to act as a 'role model'. "I think Jack knows what I expect now. We had lots of conversations last year," the Everton manager explained in September. "He knows when he comes here there is an opportunity for him to play and to show what he can do. But I also want him to be a senior professional and a role model."
Moyes added: "We've got Tyrique [George] and Tyler [Dibbling] and if ever you are looking at somebody for how to play as a wide player, Jack Grealish would certainly be one of them. I think both of them could learn an awful lot from Jack and I want him to become that senior citizen amongst them, somebody who teaches them. I think we've got a mature Jack Grealish now as well in terms of understanding the game and what is required, being a team player - not that he is an individual but he plays with an individual style."
Everton will go fifth in the Premier League table if they beat Coventry, who head to Hill Dickinson Stadium off the back of a 3-1 victory over Sunderland.
