Arteta boost for Toffees

Sunday 27 July 2008 21:30, UK

Everton have played down fears over Mikel Arteta's fitness after he was forced off against Nottingham Forest.

But van der Meyde faces spell out

Everton have played down fears over Mikel Arteta's fitness after he was forced off against Nottingham Forest on Friday. The Spanish star was substituted early on in the pre-season friendly after picking up a shin injury. Toffees physio Mick Rathbone revealed the injury is not serious and that Arteta should be fine for Everton's tour of America. "Mikel seems okay," Rathbone told the club's official website. "He got a knock on the shin which caught a nerve. "His foot went numb but it seems alright now." "It's just a knock. It was just unfortunate and we didn't want to take chances."

Blow

Dutch winger Andy van der Meyde has been ruled out of the trip to the United States after suffering a hamstring problem against Forest. "Andy's is a significant injury I'm afraid. He's pulled his hamstring," added Rathbone. "It's quite bad so we've sent him back to the training ground for a scan. "It's so disappointing for Andy, he's trained so hard this pre-season and he was doing well."

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