Is Dele Alli injured again after 19 months out? Ex-Tottenham star suffers ‘slip back’ in bid to earn new contract at Everton

The 28-year-old midfielder saw his contract with the Toffees expire at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. He has been a free agent since then, but has continued to work with the Premier League outfit after seeing them aid his recovery from an operation at the start of the calendar year.

Everton are open to agreeing fresh terms with Dele if he proves himself deserving of them, with a compromise having been reached with Tottenham that means previously agreed transfer fees will not need to change hands – as everybody tries to get the ex-England international’s career back on track.

Dele has, however, suffered more fitness woe while being put through his paces at the Toffees’ training ground. Club boss Sean Dyche has said: “He’s just making sure he’s right. He’s had a little bit of a slip back with his fitness so he is just in that total recovery period. He’s been out that long it’s just about making sure everything is right.”

Quizzed on how Dele is dealing with the fresh setback, Dyche added: “It’s not easy but unfortunately it is part of being a professional footballer. Not for all, of course. I had a year out with my back, played one game and then did my back again the next week. You work for six or seven months and then you’re out for another seven months, it’s hard. Your body is the tool you need and if it breaks down it is really difficult but you find your way through it.

“Players are fortunate now. With me, my career was on the line. Now most of these guys, not all, make enough money to look after themselves for the future. Not that it’s about that, it doesn’t make it feel any better when you’re injured, but it’s worse when you’re injured for that long and you don’t know what is coming next and you are on the breadline. That’s a whole different ball game. But he has had a tough run of it, there is no doubt about that, and on the back of him feeling better about himself. To have this period out has been very challenging for him but whenever I see him he seems to be in good spirits. He’s well aware of the situation.”

Dele’s last outing came during a loan spell at Besiktas on February 26, 2023. Issues on and off the field have been endured since then, with several hurdles being placed into the path of a man that is desperate to prove that he is no spent force.