adminFormer Everton midfielder Orel Mangala may finally return to action after the injury that abruptly ended his time on Merseyside. The 27-year-old, who joined on loan from Lyon last season, had become an important option for Sean Dyche and continued to feature regularly when David Moyes took over in January.
Mangala started Moyes’ first three games, but during the third — a tight match against Brighton & Hove Albion — he suffered the knee injury that ruled him out for the rest of the campaign. After collapsing on the pitch and trying unsuccessfully to continue, he was forced off in clear distress. Moyes later admitted the initial assessment was worrying, and it was soon confirmed that Mangala had sustained a serious ACL injury.
He returned to his parent club, Lyon, where he has been completing the final stages of his rehabilitation. Now, ahead of Lyon’s Ligue 1 clash with Nantes on Sunday night, Mangala has been included in the matchday squad — a significant milestone in his recovery.
Lyon manager Paulo Fonseca spoke about Mangala’s situation, as quoted by Get Football:
“He’s not yet ready to play a lot of minutes, but we’ll see if we can start giving him some game time. I believe he’ll be an important player for us going forward.”
Lyon have since confirmed his place in the squad for the Nantes fixture.
Mangala was not the only Everton player to suffer misfortune at the Amex that day — Dominic Calvert-Lewin also picked up a hamstring injury that derailed the final six months of his season.
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