Scans suggest Branthwaite will avoid further hamstring surgery

Jarrad Branthwaite won’t play again this season but, following scans on his injured hamstring, the club have announced that he could be fit to participate in pre-season training this summer.

Everton’s star defender sparked fears that he had suffered another serious injury when he was stretchered off the pitch at Hill Dickinson Stadium in the closing stages of the Merseyside derby after pulling up holding the back of this thigh.

Branthwaite crumpled to the turf in tears before leaving the field to warm applause from the home fans. And though he left the stadium on crutches, standard procedure for injuries of this type, and David Moyes admitted he was worried about the extent of the problem, scans at Finch Farm have revealed that the damage was sustained in an area other than where he underwent surgery last year.

The former Carlisle United defender missed the Blues’ tour of the United States last summer after suffering a set-back in his recovery from a hamstring tear sustained late in the 2024/25 campaign.

He returned to action in January but under a protocol from the club’s medical staff that sought to limit his minutes and manage his reintegration into the first team. Branthwaite also missed the team’s warm-weather training trip to Portugal last month.

He was withheld from the starting XI at Arsenal and only came on as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Chelsea but, benefitting from the three-week hiatus for internationals and the FA Cup, was able to start the matches against Brentford and the reds before breaking down again on Sunday.

Reports suggest, however, that Branthwaite’s prognosis is better than expected and the belief at Everton is that he will avoid the need for further surgery.

A preliminary two-month time frame has been put on his return to training which would hopefully enable him to have a full pre-season, unlike last year.