'It's the stuff of nightmares for the manager'

The forthcoming weeks were always going to be a test for us with both Idrissa Gana Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye at Afcon, but that test may have just become a whole lot more difficult after Saturday's defeat to Chelsea.

Seeing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – our most in form player – gingerly leave the pitch with an apparent hamstring injury, was a sight Evertonians feared and maybe even more so, David Moyes.

With the aforementioned Gana Gueye and Merlin Rohl both unavailable, losing Dewsbury-Hall leaves options in midfield seriously thin on the ground.

Not only are we navigating the precarious situation above, James Garner is one yellow card away form serving a one match suspension.

Post match whispers also highlighted a potential issue for Jack Grealish.

It's the stuff of nightmares for the manager.

Even with a full squad to pick from, numbers would still be relatively small compared to most Premier League sides.

With the squad rebuild only one transfer window deep, we were always going to have moments in the season when we were stretched.

The same players are being pushed every single week, with little room for a reshuffle to help with player recovery.

The next couple of weeks will be a real test for both the manager and players.

With Arsenal visiting Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, it will be a tough ask for us to come away with anything more than a point, but games beyond then offer a real opportunity to pick up points.

The void left by others represents an opportunity for the likes of Tyler Dibling, Dwight McNeil and Tim Iroegbunam to really cement a place in the starting XI.

Time for Moyes to earn the big bucks.

Find more from Mike Richards at Unholy Trinity