Martinez taking no risks with Jagielka

Everton boss Roberto Martinez will resist the temptation to rush captain Phil Jagielka back from injury.

The England centre-back missed the Premier League victory against West Ham and then a 4-1 FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Arsenal last weekend due to a hamstring problem.

Jagielka also sat out his country’s friendly victory over Denmark last Wednesday and Martinez will take no risks with the former Sheffield United defender’s return as the Merseyside club attempt to secure a place in Europe next season.

The Spaniard told the club’s official website: “Phil is recovering well. Now it’s a matter of assessing him day-by-day and seeing how quickly he can get back into playing.

“Clearly it’s important he is 100 per cent. I know he’s a player who will at times put himself forward at only 90 per cent to help the team. But with the amount of games we have – it’s a nine-week period with 11 games – we need Phil and every player to be fully fit.

“Whenever Phil is 100 per cent, he’ll be able to help the team, but we need to protect him a little bit and make sure he’s not rushed back into playing too early, which could risk a further period out.”

Everton are back in action in the Premier League on Saturday, when relegation-threatened Cardiff City visit Goodison Park.