Roberto Martinez: Ross Barkley "frustrated" by absence

By Sian Cowper, Reporter | 19 September 2014

Everton manager Roberto Martinez admits that midfielder Ross Barkley has been "frustrated" by the injury that has prevented him from playing at the start of this season.

Roberto Martinez has said that Ross Barkley is "frustrated" to have missed the start of the Premier League season with a knee ligament injury.

The England international suffered a medial knee ligament problem the day before the start of the new campaign, ruling him out for two to three months.

The manager told the club's website: "The knee is reacting really well, we've got a scan next week to see his progress and probably he's a little bit ahead of the timescale that we had early on, which is always positive.

"He's frustrated, as you can imagine. He's someone who wants to be involved and wants to be training all the time. But he's been doing really well. He's put his focus on a lot of other areas of his body and he's trying to use this time to strengthen and get ready for whenever he is fully fit.

"And you always expect that from Ross because, being such a young man and such a strong individual, I do feel that he'll get back a lot quicker than everyone expected. But, still, he's a few weeks away from being fully fit."

Everton face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.