James McCarthy available for Merseyside derby

Everton boss Roberto Martinez has dismissed talk of James McCarthy suffering another injury setback and stressed he expects the midfielder to be available for Saturday's Merseyside derby.

Reports had suggested McCarthy, who has only played twice since November due to his hamstring issue and last featured in late December, had aggravated the problem in training, ruling him out of this weekend’s game.

But asked about that at his press conference on Thursday to preview the Barclays Premier League clash with Liverpool at Goodison Park, Martinez said: "No, he hasn't suffered a setback.

“He was in hospital yesterday having a scan to make sure he is fully recovered and the scan showed he is perfectly healed.

“Now it is just a matter of adapting him into the match intensity, and I expect James to be available for the squad at the weekend, so it is terrific news in that respect.”

Martinez says he now anticipates McCarthy will be fully fit for the rest of the season.

Asked about the prospect of the 24-year-old Republic of Ireland international having to change his playing style to avoid long-term problems, Martinez said: “Never. Your playing style is very much what you are, and that is one of the real strengths of James’ play.

“What is important is that we help him as much as we can in terms of nutrition, footwear — anything that could have an effect in getting the tissues tired.

“He is a very young man still, but he is a sprinter who plays in midfield and his tissues need to be well looked-after.

“You get those sorts of situations where at times you pick up an injury that gives you a little bit of a problem just to get rid of it.

“But I now expect James to be clear and fully fit for the rest of the season.

“It has been a frustrating time in this campaign, because he is a very important player for us, but I can see that the injury is well behind him now — we had reassurance yesterday and we look forward to seeing him back to his very best and finishing the season really strongly.”

Someone else the Spaniard has reported encouraging news on is Toffees goalkeeper Tim Howard, who has been out of action since Boxing Day due to a calf injury. The United States shot-stopper is set to miss out again this weekend but is nearing a return.

“It’s incredible how quickly he has recovered and how well he is doing in training,” Martinez said.

“We are going to assess him over the next two or three days but the medical advice is to give him another seven days before he is on a football pitch, so we will keep that in mind.”