EVERTON HAVE suffered a blow with the news that club captain Seamus Coleman’s injury is worse than initially anticipated.

The Donegal native picked up the injury on international duty and could not complete Ireland’s clash with England earlier this month.

Boss Sean Dyche confirmed Coleman — who turns 36 next month — is set for an extended spell on the sides.

“Seamus is still injured and unfortunately it’s going to be longer than we hoped,” he said. So that’s not going to be a quick situation, we’re not sure of the timescales yet.”

Given that the extent of the injury is uncertain, Coleman could be doubtful for the remainder of Ireland’s Nations League campaign later this year.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side travel to face Finland (10 October) and Greece (13 October) before finishing with a home tie against the Finnish team (14 November) and a clash with England (17 November) at Wembley.

Coleman’s absence is one of several injuries for the Premier League strugglers.

Their defence has been particularly depleted. Jarrad Branthwaite is still recovering from his setback, while Michael Keane and James Tarkowski may also be unavailable for Saturday’s trip to Leicester.

That predicament could result in a full Premier League debut for Ireland international Jake O’Brien.

The 23-year-old Cork native joined the club for €20 million from Lyon in the summer and made his first top-flight appearance off the bench in last weekend’s 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa.

“He’s adapting to what it is,” Dyche said of O’Brien. “The nuts and bolts and nuances of the Premier League are different [to Ligue 1], without a doubt.

“But he is adapting well. We want a continuation of that.

“The biggest challenge is the real stuff when the Premier League whistle blows, that’s always the biggest challenge when they come from situations where they haven’t played in the Premier League, it’s about picking it up quickly and learning about the Premier League.”