Roberto Martinez is confident that striker Romelu Lukaku will be fit for the start of Everton’s Premier League campaign, despite suffering a hamstring injury in pre-season.
Lukaku has four goals to his name in five pre-season outings, though the last of those saw him limp off against Dundee.
A youthful Everton side were beaten 2-0 by Leeds United on Saturday, with a more senior line-up expected when Martinez’s men round off their pre-season campaign against Villarreal.
Lukaku is unlikely to feature against the Liga side on Sunday as Martinez looks to build his star striker’s fitness for the visit of newly promoted Watford on the opening day.
“We’ll assess him [ahead of the game against Villarreal],” Martinez told the club’s official website.
“I don’t think we’re going to take any risks with him on Sunday.
“I would say from a medical point of view, he is fully fit. It is just a case of making sure we give him a good introduction to work with the group because he’s not had a chance to do that yet.
“I wouldn’t risk him in a pre-season game – but Rom will be fully fit for the start of the season against Watford at home.”
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