Gosling lay-off to be shorter than expected

Everton midfielder Dan Gosling has received some welcome good news after learning his knee injury is not as serious as first feared.

The 20-year-old has already been ruled out of the start of next season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in a collision with Wolves goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann in March. Surgery had to be delayed because of swelling around the joint but Everton expect his rehabilitation time to be shorter than first anticipated.

"Dan is doing very good after his surgery. There was less damage than we first thought so that was a positive," assistant manager Steve Round told evertonfc.com. "The surgery went really well. We are very pleased with his progress so far but it is going to be a long haul for the boy."

He added: "He has got a lot of rehabilitation to do and a lot of hard work ahead of him.

"All being well, if Dan puts the time and effort in, listens to the physios and follows the programme there is no reason why he shouldn't make a full recovery."