James Garner's Race to Recover for Everton's Premier League Kick-Off

Everton’s plans for the new season have taken an early jolt, with James Garner undergoing groin surgery that leaves his involvement on opening day in doubt.

The 23-year-old, one of Everton’s standout performers last season, went under the knife after a problem was picked up in the first days of pre-season. What initially looked like a routine issue kept him out of the friendly at Dundee and, after further assessment, the club’s medical staff opted for an operation.

The procedure has been described as successful, and Everton say Garner has already started his rehabilitation at Finch Farm. The target is clear: a return to first-team training around the opening week of the Premier League season, dependent on how his recovery tracks.

That timeline underlines the risk. Sean Dyche could start the campaign without a midfielder who became central to Everton’s identity last year – energetic, combative, and increasingly influential in possession.

Everton confirmed: “The Blues midfielder has begun his rehabilitation at Finch Farm and is progressing as expected, with a return to first-team training being targeted around the opening week of the Premier League season, subject to his continued recovery.”

The timing is awkward. Garner’s setback comes just as Idrissa Gueye’s departure has been rubber-stamped, the experienced midfielder leaving at the end of his contract this summer. One reliable option gone, another temporarily sidelined. No surprise, then, that Everton are understood to be in the market for another midfielder as the window ticks on.

Garner was not the only notable absentee as Dyche’s squad continued their preparations. He missed the opener at Dundee and was again out of the group for Saturday’s friendly at Bolton Wanderers, where several key names were missing for varying reasons.

• Tyler Dibling sat out with what the club described as a “minor knock”
• Hayden Hackney, one of three summer arrivals, was also left out as he continues to be “integrated” into the squad following his move from Middlesbrough

Neither situation is thought to be serious, and Everton expect both Dibling and Hackney to be involved in Tuesday’s friendly at Stoke City.

The focus now, though, is on Garner’s progress behind the scenes. With Gueye gone and recruitment still in motion, Everton’s midfield picture could look very different by the time the season starts. The question is whether one of last year’s most reliable performers will be ready to take his place in it.