Nathan Patterson sees Everton endgame take fresh twist as Sean Dyche tells familiar Rangers exit story

Sean Dyche has put the brakes on talk around Nathan Patterson making a quick-fire return to his first-team plans at Everton.

Reports south of the border had suggested that the 23-year-old was finally set to put his injury nightmare behind him and return to the fold at Goodison Park. The Scotland right-back has not played a senior match for the Premier League outfit since rupturing his hamstring during a 6-0 defeat to Chelsea in April - which forced him to have surgery and miss Euro 2024 with his absence continuing into the new season.

Behind the scenes he has been ramping up his minutes for the B team and could be in the plans when the Premier League action returns for The Toffees against Ipswich Town this weekend. However, Dyche poured cold water over that notion, conceding the Rangers academy graduate is still a long way off being in the top team plans.

The Everton boss told Sky Sports: "He is just on his longer-term plan to get him back. He is looking fitter and sharper all the time. Not quite there yet, but he is training all the time and so far he has come through it clear of injuries which is really important."

It means that it's a repeat of the same story for Patterson since he left Ibrox for his shot at the English top flight. Having been signed by Rafa Benitez, the Spaniard was shown the door shortly after the arrival of the defender with the Scot being forced to fight for minutes during Frank Lampard's tenure.

He struggled for game time having picked up a series of knocks - but had been enjoying some of his best moments following the arrival of Dyche. However, he picked up another knock in January during a clash with Fulham that kept him out for months. After earning a recall to the top team at Stamford