Demarai Gray update provides glimmer of hope for Everton

There is hope that Demarai Gray’s injury sustained in last weekend’s defeat at Manchester City might not be as serious and he could be back for Everton sooner than expected.

Everton could really do with some good news on injuries after so much dreadful bad luck, which has gone a long way to undermining the Blues’ season, again.

Initial reports after he went down hurt and left the field at the Etihad it looked as though Gray would be missing for a long time, possibly until January.

But, now it seems as though the prognosis is a lot better and there is even a possibility he might be available much sooner than expected, even maybe for Sunday’s game at Brentford.

That does seem very unlikely to be honest, but it would be a much-needed and appreciated boost for a beleaguered Rafa Benitez as he wrestles with a seemingly endless list of injuries.

Gray has become a pivitol player in Benitez’s side after the former Birmingham and Leicester City forward joined the Toffees in the summer for a bargain £1.7 million from Bayer Leverkusen.

His pace and trickery has added something that Everton’s attack had been missing for far too long. And, alongside the other winger signed in the summer for free, Andros Townsend, he has provided another attacking dimension, at least for a while this season.

Gray is also versatile enough to play wide or centrally and offer some creativity and an additional goal threat that is needed.

It’s clear that Benitez and Marcel Brands are seeking as a priority to sign another wide player in the January transfer window along with another midfielder.

If Gray is out for longer than we might hope then that need might be even more important than it was a few weeks ago.

Fingers and toes crossed Gray can come back early, perhaps even in a week or two because Everton desperately need his pace and quality to an attack to cope with a potentially season-defining and hugely testing run of fixtures.