'Might even be 2023-24' - Medical expert now drops shock Everton injury claim before West Ham

Ben Dinnery has now dropped a shock Everton injury claim involving Andros Townsend.

The Goodison Park faithful confirmed in March that Townsend will be out for the rest of the season, after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during their 4-0 loss away at Crystal Palace in the FA Cup.

A scan on his knee revealed that he will have to now undergo surgery, before starting his rehab with the medical staff at Finch Farm.

Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery, a medical expert who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in both medicine and data analysis, has claimed that Townsend may not be able to get back to his pre-injury levels until the 2023/24 campaign:

“Whether a surgery has been successful or not comes down to the definition of success.

“Is success a full return to play and pre-injury levels? If so, we won’t know for up to nine months, maybe even longer.

“Surgeons these days are well-versed in carrying out these procedures. There are very, very high success rates.

“In terms of the injury, I’d be fairly confident that it will all go as planned. But it will be several months before we know how Townsend has responded.

“It could be early 2023 before we see him back in contention. Then it might even be 2023-24 before we see him back to his pre-injury levels.”

It may come as a shock to some fans of the Merseyside club just how long it could be until Townsend fully recovers.

By the 2023/24 term, he would be 32 years of age, and so there would have to be question marks over how long he could still perform at the highest level.

Townsend has ranked as one of the Toffees’ best players in the Premier League, and has contributed three goals and two assists (WhoScored), so losing him for such a long