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Everton's Baines available Saturday vs. Bournemouth

Alex Morton / Reuters

Leighton Baines has a chance to make his season debut for Everton on Saturday after overcoming an ankle injury.

His role against Bournemouth, however, has not been determined by manager Roberto Martinez, who will wait until Friday before deciding whether Baines is mentally prepared to play in his first match in six months.

"Physically he is fine from a medical point of view. Now it's about giving him the right sort of introduction," Martinez told reporters.

"More than anything it's about confidence, about going into 50-50 challenges without being fearful because of the way he got the injury, blocking a ball, not stretching. It's about preparing his body to be physically strong, but it is great to see him back in training.

"We will make a decision tomorrow (on whether he can play against Bournemouth). It's about giving him exactly what he needs, not rushing him back and losing him for the rest of the campaign."

It's been a long road to recovery since Baines injured his ankle during preparations for Everton's season opener in August. The knock forced the 30-year-old to go under the knife for the second time following surgery on the same ankle in May,

Baines needed over two months of rehab before he was able to return to training in October. He then increased his recovery efforts with a trio of appearances for the team's under-21 squad.

The English left-back's return has Martinez confident his squad is now one of the top Everton teams he's managed since taking over in 2013.

"We have the strongest squad we've had for a long time in terms of numbers, form, competition for places, so let's see how far we can take it," he said.

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