Roberto Martínez has said Steven Pienaar is facing a critical period in his career as the Everton midfielder prepares to return from the injury problems that almost prompted him to quit the game.
The South Africa international has not featured for Everton this term, and has completed only six Premier League games since the beginning of the 2013/14 season, having been plagued by knee, groin and hamstring injuries in recent years. The 33-year-old admitted in April that he thought: “I had better just hang my boots up and call it a day” but was persuaded otherwise by his Everton team-mates.
Pienaar is out of contract at Goodison Park next summer and, while unlikely to play at Newcastle United on Boxing Day, is scheduled to make his comeback during Everton’s demanding run of seven games in the next 21 days. “This is a huge time for him and for everyone because we know how much he has suffered and we want to give him the opportunity to show his body is back to normal and can cope with the physicality of the Premier League,” said Martínez, who also hopes to have captain Phil Jagielka, midfielder James McCarthy and defender Bryan Oviedo back from injury for the hectic schedule.
“We all want to see him feeling like he is back to being a Premier League footballer again. The hardest thing as a player is when you come through injuries and get a knock-back, then another set-back, and then you start to not feel like a footballer anymore. The next three weeks offer him light at the end of the tunnel. We all hope that Stevie can pick it up quickly and can be lucky. In football sometimes you need good fortune. It is a vital period for us to see Stevie happy and sharp. What he brings to the side is unique. I don’t think we have a like-for-like player in the squad.”
Pienaar’s left-wing partnership with Leighton Baines was a major asset for David Moyes during his final seasons at Everton but an option Martínez has rarely had available since replacing the Scot in 2013. The Everton manager added: “Probably the biggest goalscoring threat we had at Everton when I arrived was Marouane Fellaini and the Leighton Baines/Steven Pienaar partnership down the left hand side. All of a sudden we have been very successful in having completely different goalscoring threats. So, for the disappointment of not being able to count on that partnership, we have been able to cope well enough that we don’t always have to mention when Stevie is coming back.
“Other players have taken responsibility for the goalscoring threat, which is a positive, but if we could add the magic Leighton Baines/Steven Pienaar combination to what we have now it would be something to really look forward to. Unfortunately in football you have to see it on the pitch before you can count on it.”
Everton will know by the end of January whether a consortium led by the American businessmen John Jay Moores and Charles Noell intend to invest in the club. Moores and Noell have entered into a six-week exclusivity agreement with Everton chairman Bill Kenwright and the board having failed to acquire a 30% stake in Swansea City earlier this year.
Despite the prospect of Everton becoming the latest Premier League club to pass from local to foreign ownership, their manager insists he has no fears for the club’s future or reputation for managerial stability.
“We are talking about a hypothetical position,” Martinez said of the consortium’s interest. “I can guarantee you that Everton will never lose that feeling of a family club, of a club that has the right interest in making our fans proud. And the reason for it is that our chairman has got that at heart. That will never happen. Our chairman will always make sure that side is protected.
“Every Evertonian needs to be very, very excited about our future because we are in great condition financially. We haven’t got the Champions League budget that other clubs have but we want to work on what happens on the pitch and whatever happens is going to be in the good interest of our fans and the club. I have no doubts, not even one per cent concern about that.”
