Everton hope Richarlison's enforced lay-off will allow his ankle injury to heal properly after he was not 100% fit for the Merseyside derby, it can be revealed.
The Brazilian faces a three game suspension after being sent off in the final minute of the weekend's game with Liverpool and will not be eligible to play for the Blues until the late November trip to Fulham.
Following Everton's games with Southampton, Newcastle and Manchester United, Richarlison is expected to be selected for Brazil's next two World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Uruguay, ahead of the game at Craven Cottage.
The Blues must hope in the time between now and then, with Richarlison forced to watch games from the sidelines, that the ankle injury he sustained against West Ham in Carabao Cup will have fully cleared up.
Richarlison was passed fit to face Brighton a few days later and then went away on international duty, where he came off the bench against Bolivia but started against Peru.
Richarlison, having flown back from South America on Wednesday, declared himself fit to play against Liverpool and he started in a front three alongside Dominic Calvert-Lewin and James Rodriguez.
The 23-year-old came close to putting Everton in front in the second-half - his header hitting the post - but it was clear that as the game wore on, the £35m signing's energy levels started to fade and it has since emerged that his ankle is still not 100% healed.
In the final minute, he caught Thiago Alcantara with a reckless challenge and following the game, apologised to the Liverpool midfielder.
