Everton midfielder Gbamin suffers Achilles injury in training

Everton midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin has suffered an Achilles injury in training and will undergo surgery next week.

The Ivory Coast international has been sidelined since August last year when he sustained a quadricep problem in training and had surgery on the affected thigh.

The midfielder has only featured twice for the Goodison Park outfit since joining the Premier League club last summer from Bundesliga side Mainz.

The 24-year-old was nearing a return to action, having joined the rest of Carlo Ancelotti’s men in training ahead of the restart of the Premier League scheduled for June 17.

However, on Thursday, the Toffees announced the midfielder has sustained an injury during their non-contact training session.

“Jean-Philippe Gbamin is set to undergo surgery next week after suffering a serious Achilles injury in training,” read a statement on the club website.

“It is expected the midfielder, 24, will then require an extensive period of rehabilitation.

“The injury, sustained in a non-contact situation at USM Finch Farm, is unrelated to the quadriceps problem Gbamin had been working his way back from since August last year.

“Everyone at the Club is devastated for JP and we will ensure he gets all the support he needs throughout this challenging time.”

Gbamin has only played for 135 minutes since the Goodison Park outfit paid Mainz £25 million to secure his signature, featuring against Crystal Palace and Watford.

Ancelotti’s hope of boosting his squad with the Ivorian ahead of the restart of the English top-flight has now been dashed.

The Toffees are currently 12th on the Premier League table after gathering 37 points from 29 games.

Gbamin was a consistent performer for Mainz during his three-year stay at the Opel Arena, featuring in 91 Bundesliga matches before joining Everton.

It is yet to be known how long the midfielder will further be sidelined from action after the surgery.

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast will hope the former France youth international, who has 11 caps for the West Africans, bounce back from the injury problems soon in order to play a part in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.