Sean Dyche has played down expectations of Dele Alli making a comeback into the Everton set-up, revealing that the Tottenham man is yet to even return to full fitness.
Dele shocked the footballing world with his tell-all interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap, with the midfielder opening up on his childhood trauma as well as his addiction to sleeping pills and his eventual decision to go into rehab.
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The 27-year-old’s brave admission led to an outpouring of love for the midfielder, particularly from Spurs fans, many of whom still have extremely fond memories of the player, who regularly conjured up pieces of magic in a Tottenham shirt.
It is fair to say that the majority of the footballing world, not just Tottenham fans, are rooting for Dele to make a fairytale comeback.
That certainly appeared to be on the cards when it emerged a couple of days ago that the former England international had been handed his favourite number 20 shirt – the number he wore at Spurs (The Sun).
Dele Alli is still a long way off Premier League return
However, Dyche has now offered a sobering analysis of the situation, explaining that Dele first needs to get fully fit before he can himself back into his Everton plans.
The Toffees boss said (via The Times): “He is still not over his injury yet. He is well in himself but he is not over his injury.
“We are miles away from that [thinking about his role in the squad], he is just getting himself right again. He is feeling good and now we will be working with him, on top of that, to make sure the injury is right. But it is still going to be a bit of time yet.”
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I would not at all be surprised if we see Dele back to his best sooner rather than later now that he has got things off his chest through the interview.
The midfielder certainly seemed like he is now ready to enjoy his football again. We know that he is at his best when he is playing without any pressure and trying to have fun out on the pitch.
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