Everton midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson has vowed to comeback stronger and fitter as he continues his rehabilitation programme over his knee injury. The Icelandic footballer suffered the damage during the Toffees’ 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion this month, and he has since been on the sidelines receiving treatment.

Speaking on the club’s official website, Sigurdsson went through the programme which he has been placed on, he said: “It is going well and I am steadily making progress each day. I have not had any setbacks, I am off the crutches and out of the brace and almost back to walking normally. I have to get through a lot of exercises with the physios and on the machines – and the hands-on treatment as well. I have been very lucky with injuries in my career and, hopefully, I will come back stronger and fitter than ever.”

Initial reports from Iceland suggested that Sigurdsson could miss the start of the FIFA World Cup in Russia which would mean that he would miss the remainder of the season with Everton. However, Toffees boss Sam Allardyce was quick to rubbish the claims by suggesting that the former Swansea man would be deemed fit to feature prior to the final weeks of the Premier League campaign.

Sigurdsson is more of a necessity for Iceland ahead of the global tournament in Russia, and his recent recovery progress suggests that he is on schedule to return by the end of April at the least. At club level, the Toffees have plenty of players who can slot into Sigurdsson’s position, but his set-piece taking abilities would no doubt be a huge miss.

Everton are currently just three points behind seventh-placed Burnley, and Allardyce will be hopeful that the club can catch up to the Lancashire outfit, considering the position offers them the probable chance of playing Europa League football next term. For this happen, one of Chelsea, Manchester United, or Tottenham Hotspur need to win this season’s FA Cup.