Journalist Paul Brown reckons that Everton have missed Abdoulaye Doucoure during his spell on the sidelines.

Doucoure, who joined for £20m from Watford last summer, hasn't played since suffering a foot injury in the 1-0 defeat to West Ham last month.

And Brown thinks that Rafael Benitez's side have struggled without the presence of the midfielder.

How have Everton performed without Doucoure?

Prior to Doucoure's lay-off, Everton did themselves eighth in the Premier League standings, but were only one point off the top four having collected a creditable 14 points from their first eight games.

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But in his absence, the Toffees have failed to win any of their four league matches, collecting just one point from a possible 12 and the goals have dried up quite significantly, too.

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ENTER GIVEAWAY

In those four fixtures, Everton have scored just three goals and one of those was a consolation in their defeat at Wolves earlier this month.

Before Doucoure got injured, he had scored twice and assisted four more, which saw him have a hand in 46 percent of Everton's Premier League goals before he got injured.

Therefore, Brown reckons that Benitez's side haven't coped without the presence of the midfield man.

What did Brown say?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "He's always had that in his locker, but this season he's really contributed to goals and Everton have really missed him."

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When is Doucoure expected to return from injury?

Everton have not coped well since Doucoure has been out of the team, so Benitez will be hoping the former Watford man will be back as quickly as possible.

However, the Spaniard confirmed that he isn't expected to return from his ankle injury until at least another two or three weeks, which could see him miss more crucial fixtures.

If Benitez's update is accurate, Doucoure will definitely miss the trip to Brentford this weekend, the Merseyside derby against Liverpool next month and then possibly the home game with Arsenal on 6 December.

And if Doucoure does end up returning in three weeks, he could make his long-awaited return against Crystal Palace in the middle of December.