Everton are facing an injury nightmare ahead of next weekend's crunch Merseyside derby at Liverpool as they bid to keep their push for fourth place on track.
Midfielder Tim Cahill is believed to have suffered a recurrence of a foot injury, and limped out of Saturday's 1-1 draw with West Ham after just 10 minutes.
Boss David Moyes said: "We are not really sure how bad he is, we will have to assess the injury."
That will almost certainly mean that Cahill will not be travelling to China to play for Australia in midweek.
But that is not the only worry for Moyes ahead of an Anfield clash that could decide who takes the final Champions League berth.
Joseph Yobo missed the West Ham game with a foot injury picked up in training, while midfielder Steven Pienaar was ruled out with a flu bug.
Cahill, Yobo and Pienaar are all now fighting for fitness to face Rafael Benitez's men. And Pienaar's chances of playing for South Africa against Paraguay this week are clearly in serious doubt.
However, teenage striker Victor Anichebe will be involved in an Olympic qualifier for Nigeria.
The injuries have come at just the wrong time for Moyes, who has seen his side dropp five of their last six points, after following defeat at Fulham with a frustrating draw against West Ham yesterday.
But midfielder Leon Osman believes the side can bounce back. He said: "We have to pick ourselves up now and make sure we get three points at Anfield, we can handle this.
"The West Ham game was good preparation for the derby because it became 100 mph out there, end to end, and that is the way it will go next week so it was good for us to be involved in a game like that."
And versatile defender Leighton Baines, who played in midfield against the Hammers, does not believe that Everton are getting weary after a tough season. The West Ham match was their 47th of the campaign.
He said: "I don't think we're getting tired, there are people who play 50 games a season every year. At the moment we just have some injuries and a few players to come back and hopefully that will be soon. We are all still confident ahead of the Liverpool match."
