James McCarthy has shared an honest assessment of his current situation at Everton.
The midfielder finally made his return to Premier League action on Sunday in the Blues 4-0 win over Manchester United, received a rousing reception as he came on as a second half substitute in place of Idrissa Gueye .
That was the 28-year-old's first appearance in the league since suffering a horrendous double leg break in January 2018 in a 1-1 draw with West Brom at Goodison Park.
The midfielder has been fit for some time, and made an appearance against Gor Mahia in November, but has struggled to force his way into Marco Silva's plans.
And McCarthy has admitted that has been a massive frustration for him.
"It’s been very frustrating but it’s good to get back and get some minutes," the Republic of Ireland international told Off The Ball .
"It’s been a frustrating six, seven months I’ve been back and training. Making the team, making the squad it’s been a long road.
"I’m delighted to be back and hopefully now I can get a couple of games in before the end of the season and see what happens in the summer.
"We’ve got a big squad, don’t get me wrong. We’ve got a lot of good players and that’s part and parcel of football.
"You need to wait for your chance and I’ve waited since I’ve come back from the leg break. It’s been a long time but I’m delighted to be back."
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McCarthy was linked with a potential temporary exit from Goodison Park in the summer but one never materialised.
However, the midfielder has revealed his ambition to leave and pick up more game time away from Everton.
He added: "There was a couple of options to go on loan and obviously with not playing here I spoke to the manager and said to him I would like to go on loan and play some games because I’ve been finding it hard to get into this team.
"He was understanding with it but he said he didn’t want that at the time.
"Basically we waited to see what happens but I’ve got some minutes now and now I look forward to finishing the season off strongly."
The midfielder was also asked about his long term future, but remained a closed book in that regard.
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"I’m not sure," McCarthy remarked.
"We’ll sit there in the summer and see what happens."
