Everton are still waiting for a specialist to determine whether Jack Grealish needs surgery for a troublesome foot injury.<\/p>\n
The on-loan Manchester City wide man initially reported a calf problem following the recent 1-0 win at his former club Aston Villa, only for subsequent feedback and tests to reveal another issue \u2014 a stress fracture \u2014 that the club fear could leave him sidelined for much of what remains of the campaign.<\/p>\n
Whether Grealish ends up having surgery or not, the initial prognosis did not bode well. Not for the player, who will see his World Cup chances further dwindle during his extended spell on the sidelines, or an Everton side already starved of creativity.<\/p>\n
Before Monday\u2019s 1-1 home draw against Leeds United, David Moyes\u2019 side had the fourth-lowest non-penalty expected goals (xG) total in the Premier League, a proxy for the quality of opportunities created, albeit having played one game fewer. The draw at Hill Dickinson Stadium did little to move the dial in that regard, with Everton creating just one Opta-defined \u2018big chance\u2019 against the promoted side.<\/p>\n
There appears to be no easy mechanism for Everton to cancel the Grealish loan, nor would it be in City\u2019s financial interests to do so. With the Merseyside club paying around three-quarters of his salary, which is worth around \u00a3300,000 ($400,000) a week, the bill even in his absence would stand at around \u00a31million a month. That is a costly endeavour for a marquee player watching on from the sidelines.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n\n Grealish could be out for the rest of the season (Richard Heathcote\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Moyes revealed in Friday\u2019s press conference that Everton were in \u201cclose contact\u201d with City over Grealish\u2019s rehabilitation. Everton possess a \u00a350m option to make the move permanent, but were minded even before the injury to haggle over the price if they entered negotiations to keep him, given the commitment in wages. Now they have a chance to bide their time and see how his rehab goes before deciding whether to make a move. While they will assess options to replace him in January, right-back and striker remain a bigger focus.<\/p>\n Monday was the start of life without Grealish and a reminder that replacing his impact is unlikely to be easy. He ranks third in the league for assists (six), behind only Bruno Fernandes (10) and Rayan Cherki (seven), and has created 11 more chances than the next Everton player (James Garner). It is harder to measure his influence on dressing-room morale, but his team-mates have detailed how his presence inspired confidence that they could go to Old Trafford and Villa Park and win.<\/p>\n Grealish was not in stellar form before his injury, \u201cdipping\u201d, to quote Moyes, in the winter months after an exceptional start on Merseyside. There was also a sense that Everton skewed their play in his direction so much that they created an over-reliance that will be hard to unravel.<\/p>\n Moyes was buoyed by the return of Iliman Ndiaye, fresh from winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, to the starting lineup. Ndiaye has spent most of the season slightly out of position on the right to accommodate Grealish, but returned to his favoured left with Dwight McNeil on the right.<\/p>\n The setup suited the Ndiaye much more than McNeil, whose reluctance to use his right foot can make him too predictable. McNeil was also implicated in Leeds\u2019 goal, failing to track James Justin\u2019s run from deep, with full-back Nathan Patterson occupied in the middle. McNeil may have deserved another chance after a disciplined defensive performance against Villa, but he remains ill-suited to the role.<\/p>\n \u201cThat wasn\u2019t a tough decision,\u201d Moyes said in his post-match press conference. \u201cIli (Ndiaye) played on the right for us earlier in the season. But last season he played mainly on the left and he\u2019d probably tell you he feels a bit more comfortable (on the left).<\/p>\n \n Ndiaye has returned from AFCON and offers Moyes options (Jan Kruger\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been so good on the right, but it felt a bit easier to put him on the left and keep Dwight on the right.\u201d<\/p>\n Everton were tactically and physically outmatched in the first half by a muscular, energetic Leeds side who created overloads out wide in particular. Striker Thierno Barry was isolated for much of the opening period and it was unclear, beyond the individualism of Ndiaye, how they planned to break down Leeds. It took until the hour mark for them to register a shot on target through Barry.<\/p>\n Everton have not been good chasers this season. While they are yet to lose a game in which they scored first, winning eight and drawing three, Monday was their first draw salvaged after conceding the first goal. They have lost eight of the other nine, their one win coming at home to Palace in October.<\/p>\n There were similarities between Monday\u2019s game and that victory over Oliver Glasner\u2019s side, with Everton struggling to get to grips with a wing-back system and narrow Leeds\u2019 forwards.<\/p>\n Moyes rectified some of the issues at the break, bringing on Jarrad Branthwaite and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and matching Leeds\u2019 three-at-the-back formation. He admitted he had not intended to use the pair \u2014 who were in the squad for the first time since returning from lengthy injury lay-offs \u2014 so soon, but the switch saw Everton\u2019s quality shine through and afforded them a route back into the match.<\/p>\n Everton will no doubt have ended the game content with a point, given their first-half travails. But the story of the season has been of a side failing to capitalise at home on the opportunities presented by their strong away form. Just about every time they have had the chance to step up, they have squandered it.<\/p>\n It was the same again on Monday, where a victory would have seen them move seventh, just three points off fourth. Instead, they lie 10th.<\/p>\n Losing Grealish\u2019s quality does not help their case as they look to mount a challenge for Europe. But it is also far from the only issue for a side still striving for consistency and clarity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/01\/27013143\/GettyImages-2258366466-scaled.jpg\")
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