(Reuters) - Winger Yannick Bolasie trained with the Everton first team squad on Wednesday as he steps up his recovery from a knee injury after nearly a year out.
Bolasie, who joined Everton from Crystal Palace last year, has not featured since injuring his anterior cruciate ligament in a 1-1 Premier League draw with Manchester United last December.
Caretaker boss David Unsworth said that the 28-year-old, who trained with Everton's under-23 side last week before joining the first team, was in line for a return in the New Year.
Everton are 16th in the table with 12 points after three wins, three draws and six defeats and travel to 14th-placed Southampton on Sunday.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Keith Weir)
