Everton will head to Craven Cottage this weekend for their Premier League clash against Fulham following their fantastic 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace, and now some early team news has emerged which will delight the Goodison Park faithful.

What's the latest?

According to Premier League injury expert Ben Dinnery, Nathan Patterson has a 50% chance of featuring against the Cottagers this weekend after recovering from an ankle/foot injury during the international break last month.

Dinnery has updated the Scottish full-back's injury status on his Premier League Injuries website to reflect the increased likelihood that the 21-year-old could return as early as Saturday evening.

Lampard should be delighted

There is no doubt that Frank Lampard should be delighted that Patterson could be potentially ready to reprise his role in the Everton team this weekend, as the manager will be hoping for the team's improvement to continue with his key players available to perform.

The young right-back spoke out on his potential return to action on the Everton Live pre-match show ahead of the Crystal Palace game last Saturday, saying: “Yeah, I am doing well. I am nearly back, next week hopefully. I am recovering well.”

Patterson was a standout performer for the Toffees prior to his injury problems and has proven how crucial his inclusion in the line-up has been when you consider some of Everton's most recent results.

The Merseysiders went five games unbeaten whenever the talented ace featured across 90 minutes in the lead-up to the international break in September, but have since gone on to lose three out of the five games that he has missed during his recovery.

Despite his absence, the 21-year-old remains the fourth highest-rated player in Lampard's squad according to SofaScore, and it's not hard to see why he has had such a positive response to his performances.

Across seven appearances this term, Patterson has made 1.3 interceptions, four tackles and 2.7 clearances per game, along with winning the majority of his duels (63%) and creating one big chance to show that he is a noticeable presence in the team, especially in terms of his defensive output.

If Patterson is available to feature against Fulham, it seems likely that Lampard will gives him some minutes or may even start him, and the Everton manager will be hopeful that the full-back can pick up where he left off by producing another fantastic performance upon his return to action.