Martinez hoping for revitalised Pienaar next season

Roberto Martinez hopes to see the best of Steven Pienaar next season after a frustrating campaign blighted by injuries.

Knee and groin problems have hampered the 33-year-old this season and he has only featured on 11 occasions for Everton in all competitions.

He returned to first-team action against Swansea City in the Premier League earlier this month, but Martinez is not expecting to see much from the South Africa international until 2015-16.

“We need to get him fit, but it is not a big, big issue,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“His knee was a big problem and all of the problems that come from the mechanics of the knee.

“You get those seasons where you get one problem after another because you are trying to catch up.

“So we hope with a period in the summer we will be able to refresh and readjust him to get him ready for pre-season and set him up for a positive campaign next season.”