Everton: £9m Lampard outcast 'may benefit' from Townsend blow

Everton winger Andros Townsend’s season-ending injury could benefit Anwar El Ghazi, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The ex-Tottenham attacker suffered a serious knee problem at Crystal Palace last Sunday and has been ruled out for the rest of the campaign, potentially handing a lifeline to £9m-rated El Ghazi, who’s hardly had a look in since he joined on loan from Aston Villa in January.

It was a cruel blow for Townsend, made worse by the fact that it happened against one of his former sides.

Just 16 minutes into his return to Selhurst Park, the winger was involved in a challenge near the corner flag which forced him off.

Townsend applauded the Crystal Palace fans as he left the pitch but was in a great deal of pain as he had to be helped towards the tunnel by the Everton medical staff.

Having waited anxiously for an update on his condition, the Toffees confirmed on Wednesday that Townsend had suffered an ACL injury and will be forced to undergo surgery before starting his road to recovery.

It went from bad to worse after that for Frank Lampard’s side, who were dumped out of the FA Cup in embarrassing fashion as Palace ran out 4-0 winners.

However, on an afternoon of so many negatives, O’Rourke reckons that El Ghazi could end up profiting from Townsend not being available.

He toldGIVEMESPORT: “I think El Ghazi could maybe benefit from Townsend’s injury.”

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Signed by Rafael Benitez, who was sacked just days later, El Ghazi always appeared to have his work cut out under Lampard, and that’s proved to be the case.

He’s played just 11 minutes in Lampard’s seven Premier League games in charge of the Goodison Park outfit and