Everton’s Seamus Coleman suffers recurrence of hamstring injury with Ireland

UPDATE - Everton have now confirmed that Coleman will return to Finch Farm at the start of next week for further assessment.

Everton have suffered another injury blow with news that Seamus Coleman has sustained a recurrence of a hamstring injury while on international duty.

A statement from the FAI confirmed Coleman suffered the injury in training in Tuesday.

He underwent a scan and assessment by the Ireland medical team, who ruled him out of contention for the clash at Wembley.

There was no indication whether Coleman would withdraw from the squad entirely, with Ireland facing Wales and Bulgaria in the Nations League over the next week.

He was pictured at Wembley watching the game from the Ireland bench, which suggests he will remain with the squad for now.

The 32-year-old first suffered the injury in the draw against Liverpool and was sidelined for two weeks, missing the defeats at Southampton and Newcastle.

He returned for last weekend’s 3-1 loss against Manchester United, but looked short of full match fitness.

For that reason you have to wonder whether Everton should have pulled him out of the Ireland squad to begin with.

Coleman is a fiercely proud Irishman and I imagine would never refuse the chance to play for his country. But as he enters the final years of his career the need to protect his body becomes even greater, especially during a congested campaign where the demands placed on elite players are greater than they have ever been.

Despite his ageing years his importance to the Everton side has not diminished, with back-up option Jonjoe Kenny yet to prove himself as a capable long-term successor.

Maybe it was a decision that should have been taken out of his hands.