Posted by Bimbo Adesina on
EVERTON forward, Yakubu Aiyegbeni has raptured his Archiles tendon, which forced him out of Sunday's Premier League triumph over Tottenham Hotspur at White Heart Lane.
EVERTON forward, Yakubu Aiyegbeni has raptured his Archiles tendon, which forced him out of Sunday's Premier League triumph over Tottenham Hotspur at White Heart Lane.
The bulky striker has been ruled out of the remainder of the season and will also not be available for selection when Nigeria opens the final qualification phase for 2010 World Cup in Maputo against Mozambique in March.
Aiyegbeni, who was playing as a lone striker fell awkwardly following a collision with Spur's Ledley King in the 10th minute of the match. It was not until after the match that the full extent of Aiyegbeni's injury was revealed and it got worse for the visitors. Louis Saha was introduced as Aiyegbeni hobbled down the tunnel with his right boot in his hand, but he in turn had to be replaced by Victor Anichebe after 70 minutes over injuring a hamstring. Though, Everton boss David Moyes marked his 300th game in charge of Everton with a victory over rejuvenated Tottenham, courtesy of Steven Pienaar's deflected winner, but came at a huge price with the loss of Aiyegbeni for the remainder of the season. "He's done his Achilles and that's him out for the season. Louis Saha did his hamstring as well so, with James Vaughan facing a knee operation, we are really short up front. It's a massive shame for us," Moyes said after the match.
"We've had no luck injury-wise," said Moyes. "But I'm hopeful that the group will work hard and respond to the challenge, especially Anichebe who, whilst only young, has real quality." When asked if the injuries would prompt the Scot to seek reinforcements in the January transfer window, he added: "It is well documented that we don't have great amounts of cash here and getting involved in January certainly wouldn't have been our ideal plan.
'But the chairman has always backed me and clearly we can't go through the rest of the season if we only have one fit striker. We'll see where we are and what we can do when the time comes in the new year."