Does latest Oviedo injury raise doubts about his long-term future?

Poor Bryan Oviedo.

One of the most popular members of the Everton squad has had more injuries over the past 18 months than many players have in their careers.

The latest blow is a broken metatarsal suffered in training this week, an injury that Roberto Martinez says will keep him out until the end of pre-season - which will be around the end of July/start of August.

Oviedo was only just recovering from a hamstring injury suffered against Young Boys back in February and was due to play for the Under-21s against Liverpool to gain some match fitness.

To get so close to a return only to suffer such a serious setback must be difficult to take for a player who has been through so much in that regard already.

We don't really need reminding about his gruesome leg break sustained against Stevenage in the FA Cup last year, the faces of his devastated teammates were enough for us to realise just how serious it was.

Oviedo, who comes across as a warm and positive character, refused to get too downbeat with his misfortune, thanking the fans for their support and focusing on his recovery.

The injury sadly meant he missed the World Cup, where Costa Rica reached the quarter-finals, and was only fit to return in an Everton shirt the following September.

His comeback would only last two games however as he would have to go under the knife again to remove a screw from his leg, keeping him out for a further nine weeks.

He recovered again to make a comeback against Krasnodar in December, but would only make four further starts before his hamstring injury.

The 25-year-old will now not only miss the rest of the season but also the Gold Cup with Costa Rica, as well as a crucial period of pre-season in the summer.

The positive is that all three injuries are completely separate - Oviedo's broken foot is not on the leg he broke last year.

In that respect you could put his disastrous season simply down to bad luck. Like Martinez said with  Darron Gibson, soft tissue injuries are the sign of an injury-prone players, broken bones aren't.

Speaking at his weekly news conference, Martinez said:

"We had a really disappointing situation with Bryan Oviedo in training. He has fractured his fifth metatarsal, which is incredible bad luck.

“He was in a great moment of form and looking forward to getting back into the squad and finishing the season playing.

“It was a very unfortunate action on his own and he is going to be out for the rest of the season. He was trying to get on the ball and his ankle rolled in a very awkward position.”

I really hope Oviedo makes a full recovery this time and gets back to something like the form we saw him display at the end of 2013, with his Old Trafford winner destined to go down in Everton folklore.

The concern though is the severity of his initial injury will have a long-lasting impact and perhaps preventing him from ever returning to previous best.