Ronald Koeman confirms James McCarthy fit for Swansea game

Ronald Koeman has confirmed James McCarthy is available for selection for Everton’s match against Swansea City on Saturday.

McCarthy missed Ireland’s World Cup qualification win over Austria through injury, and his withdrawal from Martin O’Neill’s squad followed a war of words between the Toffees boss and the Ireland management.

26-year-old McCarthy has endured an injury-plagued campaign, featuring just once off the bench for Everton since August.

Despite a lack of playing time McCarthy featured in Ireland’s qualification wins over Georgia and and Moldova in October, and was originally included in O’Neill’s squad for the trip to Vienna.

However, McCarthy was subsequently stood down from international duty after failing to recover from his hamstring problem.

O’Neill’s assistant Roy Keane acknowledged McCarthy was not fit to play, but his withdrawal prompted him to question Everton’s stance over the midfielder.

Keane said: “They get lots of injuries with players who are not playing international football so they might have a look at themselves at club level. They are on about overload. I think sometimes a coach or a manager at a club like Everton; you want players playing lots of matches because that’s down to being successful.

“Remind me, when did Everton last win a trophy?”

And speaking on Friday ahead of the visit of Swansea, Koeman confirmed McCarthy’s return to fitness.

Asked if there was a relationship between himself and the Irish management, and Roy Keane in particular, Koeman responded: “I don’t have a relationship with them. They are defending the Irish national team and I’m defending Everton.

“The next international break is in March. It’s time enough to focus on the Premier League and in March we will see how the Irish national team is.”