Roberto Martinez will have decisions to make over his midfield ahead of Saturday's visit of Chelsea – but Darron Gibson is almost certain to miss out.
Potential debutant James McCarthy will need to prove his fitness to the Spaniard after returning from international duty with a minor knock but is likely to push fellow new boy Gareth Barry for a first Everton start. Striker Romelu Lukaku is ineligible.
McCarthy's compatriot Seamus Coleman also returned bumped and bruised from the Ireland camp and will be assessed ahead of the visit of Jose Mourinho's side.
Meanwhile, Martinez insists Gibson (knee) and Antolin Alcaraz (hamstring) are making positive strides in their quests to return to action and expects to have both available for selection by the end of the month.
"Darron and Antolin have been working in a way that they are joining the first team; now it is a matter of getting them full match fitness," said Martinez on Thursday.
"That could take a couple of weeks depending on how they react. I do feel they probably won't be fit for the weekend, but they aren't too far away.
"It has been a great couple of weeks for Darron, especially in terms of getting close to being available."
Asked how his team was looking on the whole ahead of Saturday's evening kick off, Martinez added: "Today we will find out. Between today and yesterday we will get the 15 players we had away back from internationals.
"There are one or two knocks as you would expect, especially Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy, who were away with Ireland. Apart from those two, everyone seems fully fit and ready to perform."
Chelsea will be hoping all their players returned unscathed from international duty, with Ramires and David Luiz travelling to the United States to represent Brazil, and Michael Essien journeying as far as Japan to play for Ghana.
New signings Samuel Eto'o and Willian could both make their debuts after signing from Anzhi Makhachkala in the final few days of the transfer window.
Chelsea go into Saturday's game sitting in second place in the Barclays Premier League table after two wins and a draw from their first three games.
Mourinho's men have not played in the league since Monday 26 August following their goalless draw away at Manchester United and were last in action in the UEFA Super Cup when they lost 5-4 on penalties to Bayern Munich.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez will be aiming to secure his first league win since taking over the team in June after three straight draws against Norwich, West Brom and Cardiff.
It will be the team's first game at Goodison since the 2-1 victory over Stevenage in the Capital One Cup at the end of August.
Chelsea 2-1 Everton, 19 May 2013
The two sides last met on the final day of last season, with Chelsea securing a 2-1 win to wrap up a third-place Premier League finish.
It only took the hosts seven minutes to open the scoring, with Juan Mata finishing after Tim Howard had spilled Demba Ba's initial effort.
Everton responded immediately when Steven Naismith neatly lifted the ball over Petr Cech, but the winner came from the boot of Fernando Torres with just 14 minutes remaining.
Everton will also be on the hunt for revenge after Chelsea inflicted their only home league defeat of last term – the 2-1 reverse at Goodison on 30 December.
Tickets for Saturday's game are still available. To secure your seat, click here or call 0871 663 1878.
Alternatively, visit the Box Office at Goodison Park, Everton Two in Liverpool One or TicketQuarter in Queen Square.
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