Roberto Martinez is confident that influential striker Romelu Lukaku will recover from a hamstring problem in time for next Saturday’s Premier League curtain-raiser against Watford at Goodison Park.
The Toffees chief fielded a youthful team on Saturday as they went down to a 2-0 defeat against Championship side Leeds United at Elland Road.
However Martinez will field a side which will no doubt be as close to his starting XI for the league opener against the newly-promoted Hornets when Everton host Spanish La Liga outfit Villarreal in their final pre-season friendly on Sunday.
Lukaku, who has bagged four goals in five warm-up matches, is set to miss the game after he limped off in a recent clash against Scottish Premiership side Dundee.
But Martinez is adamant that with another week of training under his belt, he should be in the line-up when the action starts for real in six days’ time.
He told the club’s website: “I don’t think we’re going to take any risks with him on Sunday.
“I would say, from a medical point of view, he is fully fit. It is just a case of making sure we give him a good introduction to work with the group because he’s not had a chance to do that yet.
“I wouldn’t risk him in a pre-season game but Rom will be fully fit for the start of the season against Watford at home.”
Everton have been installed as the 1.70 favourites to defeat Watford next Saturday, while the Hornets are on offer at 5.00 to win and the draw is at 3.80.
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