Everton have confirmed midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure will not be available for their Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The 29-year-old, who was born in France but features for Mali, has been ruled out of action for three weeks after picking up a hamstring injury during the first half of last weekend's clash against Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Everton manager Frank Lampard has confirmed the news of Doucoure's injury, who has already started his rehabilitation.
"Doucoure is probably going to be about three weeks from now," Lampard explained to the club's official website while preparing for the clash against Forest.
Other players who have been ruled out are Yerry Mina (ankle), Ben Godfrey (fractured fibula), Andre Gomes and Andros Townsend (ACL).
Lampard further confirmed new signing Amadou Onana is in contention to make his debut.
"[Onana] is certainly in contention. That's a call for me to make and I'm giving it as long as I possibly can until the game tomorrow [Saturday] because as much as we want his impact - and I think he's going to have a big impact," added Lampard.
During Everton's season opener against Chelsea which they lost 1-0 at Goodison Park, Doucoure linked up well with Nigeria international Alex Iwobi in the middle of the park.
He joined the Toffees from Watford in September 2020 and made his international debut for Les Aigles in a 1-0, 2022 World Cup qualification defeat against Tunisia on March 25, 2022.
