James McCarthy and Tom Cleverley will need to be assessed ahead of the weekend visit of Tottenham Hostpur after sustaining injuries against Stoke City.
McCarthy – returning after a five match lay off – suffered a recurrence of the groin strain after setting up
Romelu Lukaku for the Belgian’s first goal in the 4-3 defeat to the Potters.
His replacement, Cleverley, was also withdrawn midway through the second half after injuring his Achilles tendon before finding Lukaku to add his second of the contest.
And manager
Roberto Martinez believes both players will be touch and go ahead of the
Goodison Park clash with Spurs on Sunday.
“To lose Tom Cleverley through injury and to get a reaction, a flare up from James McCarthy is a real negative,” said Martinez at the full-time whistle.
“It was a blow to lose James so early. We felt we needed an extra energy and you saw that with his impact in with the assist for the first goal.
“Tom then felt his Achilles tendon and we will have to assess it. He tried to stay on as long as he could. He played the pass for Romelu Lukaku for the second goal but he had to come off.
“He made a really big impact when he came on and he was playing a massive role.”