Everton handed huge pre-West Ham boost which will have Lampard buzzing - opinion

Everton defender Yerry Mina has returned to Finch Farm as he looks to step up his recovery from injury.

As per Premier League injury expert Ben Dinnery via Twitter, the Colombian is back training at Finch Farm, having not featured for the Toffees since early February.

According to former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor, Everton will be “buzzing” over the return of the 27-year-old, and he suggested that Michael Keane’s place in the team could be up for grabs with Mina set to return.

Speaking to Football Insider, the 35-year-old said: “Michael Keane has been dreadful in recent months. He’s lacked the pace, and even lacked the intelligence at times.

“Mina coming back, for me, will be massive. I love him. He’s a big, physical, giant of a defender. He’s fairly quick too.”

Everton have not had the best of luck with injuries this season, with their inconsistencies showing mainly in their full-back areas. The departure of Lucas Digne in the January transfer window did not help matters, although the inconsistency in tactical setup from Frank Lampard has arguably hampered the Toffees even more.

Everton have missed Mina’s presence at the back, having been a consistent feature for the Toffees over the last couple of seasons.

In terms of the criticism of Keane, his downfall actually sees him rank first for clearances per match with 3.9. Whilst this can be regarded as a positive metric for some teams, this style does not fit into the philosophy of playing out from the back that Lampard is trying to employ.

In this regard, Mina could well be suited towards the 43-year-old’s attempted style of play. His 6.5 passes under pressure per 90 rank him in the 75th percentile, which is superior to Keane’s 5.7 per 90 for this metric.

Perhaps