Romelu Lukaku Suffers Ankle Injury

The 20 year old suffered an ankle injury on the corner kick that led to Liverpool's first goal in the 4-0 drubbing at Anfield. The news is not good, but certainly not as bad as first feared either.

"There is no ligament damage and the injury is not as bad as we first thought. It will be a case of weeks rather than months," Roberto Martinez told evertonfc.com today.

The obvious replacement for Lukaku is new signing Lacina Traore, but given that Martinez told reporters that Traore was likely a few weeks away from making an impact, the Toffees will have to make do without either pure striker.

Steven Naismith could then be the player we see take the position at the top of the formation in the coming weeks, as he did following Lukaku's injury on Tuesday. He was largely ineffective (then again, who wasn't on Tuesday?), but did score twice against Stevenage and has at times scored goals just by finding himself in the right place at the right time.

Another option could be putting Kevin Mirallas at striker, but with the recent injury to Bryan Oviedo, the club is already dangerously thin at wing. If Gerard Deulofeu can return soon, as expected, and Aiden McGeady is fully match fit, then those two could deputize at right wing, allowing Mirallas to play striker.

Perhaps we will see Mirallas, Naismith, and Traore all up front before Lukaku returns. Evertonians will have to up that he can return fully fit in a few weeks, and perhaps better than ever after some much needed rest. So we can hope!

Get well soon Romelu.