Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s latest injury, suspected to be a hamstring strain, is set to keep him out of action for some weeks.
Calvert-Lewin, 25, has struggled immensely with injuries, and after suffering a string of setbacks, the English striker has managed just 30 appearances in the last two seasons.
Consequently, after injuring his hamstring recently, manager Sean Dyche has been forced to consider the possibility that the 25-year-old is not sleeping on the correct mattress, or driving the right car (Guardian).
“I’ve got to learn about his history, his physiological history,” the former Burnley told reporters on Thursday.
“I’ve got to learn what his body will and won’t take, which is what we are trying to do now. We’re speaking to him, the medics, the sports scientists, looking at the stats, training programmes, distance covered, high-speed running, how many kms in a week, what’s his diet like, what’s his lifestyle like, what car does he drive, what mattress does he use, how many hours does he sleep a night?
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“That’s learning about people. The biggest learning is what is in here [points to his head] and that’s the hard part. I’ll get all the information I can and then share it with him. That’s the process for every player, by the way, not just him.”
Reacting to the news, former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore has questioned Calvert-Lewin’s resilience and warned the Englishman that unless his fitness improves he runs the risk of being left behind.
“Sometimes you’ve got to put yourself out there and be super resilient,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“It appears Calvert-Lewin is a player that has to be 100 per cent feeling it in order to play, that’s not ideal because sometimes, as a pro, you’ve just got to get on with it, even if you’re only 80 or 90 per cent.
“He needs to stop, look in the mirror and ask himself if he’s part of the 100 per cent club, or if his string of injuries are having a knock-on effect and happening one after another. If it’s the former, just get yourself out there, but if it’s the latter then I like the approach Dyche has taken when it comes to looking into the type of bed he sleeps on and the type of car he’s driving. We often forget that simple things like these can have a huge impact on our bodies. It’s sensible for Everton to be looking into the striker’s life away from the pitch and the training ground.
“Irrespective of that though – the Toffees can’t wait on Calvert-Lewin so unless the boy can sort his relentless injuries out, he runs the risk of being left behind.”
Since joining Everton from Sheffield United for less than £2m back in 2016, Calvert-Lewin, who has two years left on his deal, has gone on to feature in 203 matches, in all competitions, scoring 59 goals along the way.