Sean Dyche has thrown down the gauntlet to Nathan Patterson to end the Everton injury woes that have plagued he defender since leaving Rangers.
The 23-year-old is inching closer to an end to his nightmare spell on the scenes with appearances for the B team and at training behind the scenes at Goodison Park.
However, the Scotland right-back has not played a senior match for the Premier League outfit since rupturing his hamstring during a 6-0 defeat to Chelsea in April - which forced him to have surgery and miss Euro 2024 with his absence continuing into the new season.
Patterson has seen his Goodison Park career blighted by injury knocks after making a £11million switch from Rangers in January 2022.
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