Everton will head to the North East tonight for their Premier League clash with Newcastle United, and Frank Lampard has now delivered a frustrating injury update ahead of the game.

What's the latest?

The Toffees boss took to this pre-match press conference on Tuesday to provide an update on Yerry Mina's condition following a calf complaint that the defender had in training last week.

Lampard told the media: "Yerry had a small issue in his rehab last week so he won't be involved."

A blow for Lampard

It will surely be a blow for the Everton manager that Mina has suffered a setback in his rehabilitation, with the side currently facing several congested fixtures ahead of the World Cup.

As a result, Everton need as much depth as possible, particularly in defence where they have already been strong this season, with only five teams in the top-flight conceding fewer goals.

Over the next three-and-a-half weeks the Toffees will face Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Leicester City and Bournemouth twice, so Lampard will surely be hoping that with light squad rotation, all of his key players can remain fit.

Without Mina, however, defensive rotation becomes a lot harder with other players having to risk their own fitness before the World Cup break.

What makes this a bigger blow is that the Merseysiders had the worst injury record in the entire Premier League last season, with little seemingly improving in that department this term. Indeed, the Colombian defender was one of the players who suffered the most in 2021/22, with multiple instances of injury occurring during a challenging campaign for the Toffees.

Mina's lack of availability will without a doubt bother not only the manager but the powers at Goodison Park too as he is the highest-paid player on their wage bill, collecting a rather staggering £120k-per-week.

The Everton centre-back has rarely been seen over the past 12 months, making just 14 Premier League appearances since the beginning of 2021/22, proving that he has become unreliable and has been an alarming waste of money for months on end.

Luckily the club invested in two trustworthy and reliable defenders with Conor Coady and James Tarkowski joining the club this summer and they have already formed a fantastic centre-back partnership which will be a relief for Lampard.

With that being said, it will be interesting to see if Mina ever reprises his starting role in the backline when he does recover from his injury issues, as it is already looking like the side could be stronger without him.