Nathan Patterson injury update, Moyes pleased with Aznou and Garner against Man United | OneFootball

Everton have suffered a new injury concern two weeks before their Premier League season kicks off with a fixture against newly-promoted Leeds United at Elland Road.

Full-back Nathan Patterson was absent from the Toffees squad for the 2-2 draw with Manchester United in Atlanta, with manager David Moyes confirming his absence due to injury-related reasons after the game.

“Nathan has got hernia symptoms. Whether it means he’s got a hernia or not, we’re not sure, but we’ll have him assessed on Tuesday after we get back,” Moyes told the media.

Patterson had started the first two matches of the Summer Series against Bournemouth and West Ham United.

Further tests will reveal the extent of his condition and whether he will be fit for the start of the new league season.

Jarrad Branthwaite, who missed the flight to the United States following a niggle he picked up against Blackburn Rovers, is close to returning to training. “The big sign tonight is that we should have Jarrad [Branthwaite] back in training when we return to training on Wednesday, with a bit of luck, and Tarky returning is beginning to get us feeling we’re getting the players we had last year ready,” the Scottish manager added.

Both Branthwaite and Tarkowski ended the 2024/25 season with injuries. Getting them back will be a major boost for the Blues, who have suffered from a leaky defence during the pre-season. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in six friendlies and have conceded 10 goals so far.

One of the biggest talking points following the 2-2 draw with Manchester United was left-back Adam Aznou’s first appearance in an Everton shirt. Signed from Bayern Munich, the 19-year-old came on just after the hour mark and left a pleasant impact on his manager.

“I thought young Adam, when he came on, for 25 minutes, looked a composed footballer and did a lot of good things for a young boy. He played with a little bit of nous with how he did it.

“Obviously, his levels of physicality and what not, he’ll have to get used to that over the next year or two, but I thought he was a bit of a positive when he came on and there were some good signs from him. His main position is left-back but we brought him on further forward as we thought it would suit him. We thought it was the right time to give Adam a run-out and I think we’ve all been pleased with what we saw initially.”

Moyes was also impressed with James Garner’s display against his former club, Manchester United. Having felt the 24-year-old could have done better in the previous games, the 62-year-old said, “I’ve actually been pretty disappointed in Jimmy in the early games in pre-season, but not tonight. Tonight, I thought he played really well and he actually went all of the distance.

“But you’ve got to remember, we’ve played Jimmy Garner at right wing-back because we’ve not had other people to do the job. Jimmy’s a bit more flexible but we played him a little bit deeper and I thought as the game went on, he was the one who was still chugging along and I was pleased with him.”

I haven't seen the game but TW report shows Aznou coming on for Tarkowski and as Moyes says he played further forward what line up was used after that substitution and I wonder if Moyes has considered doing something similar with Patterson.

Hernia symptoms are strange things as I've got something similar, a lump about the size of an egg, which I've had for a few years about 3 inches to the right of my belly button and the same distance below which the Quack says won't need treatment unless it becomes painful. But then my athletic days, if I ever really had any, are well gone.