Leg break victim McCarthy can seek comfort in Everton mates Bolasie, Coleman

With West Brom striker Salomon Rondon closing in on goal after nutmegging a helpless Mason Holgate, industrious Everton midfielder James McCarthy put his body on the line to block the hulking Venezuelan's shot Saturday at Goodison Park.

It was a moment McCarthy will never forget.

The 27-year-old Republic of Ireland mainstay now faces a protracted recovery from compound fractures of the tibia and fibula, though if McCarthy needs an example of the perils of career-defining injuries and the gallantry required to overcome them, he need not look far.

It was an innocuous challenge that occurs a countless number of times each match. Yannick Bolasie and Anthony Martial darted toward the end line for the ball, and as the two pacey wingers met shoulder-to-shoulder, Bolasie collapsed to the pitch, writhing in noticeable pain.

Seamus Coleman's injury was anything but banal. A deflected Jonathan Walters cross landed helplessly in no man's land 10 yards shy of the penalty area during a March 2017 World Cup qualifier. Republic of Ireland full-back Coleman and his Welsh counterpart Neil Taylor raced for the ball, and as the two collided, the latter's studs caught Coleman's right leg with a vulgar tackle.

For the influential Everton pairing, two contrasting incidents resulted in career-threatening injuries.

Bolasie has just returned to the Toffees' first-team fold after more than a year on the treatment table and multiple operations to repair a cruciate knee ligament tear. While one wide player puts the pieces of a promising career back together, another in Coleman bides his time with exhausting physiotherapy and an as-draining period of self-doubt.

It was as graphic an injury as the leg break that once sidetracked Luke Shaw's career and the one that has threatened to do the same to McCarthy. As players from both Ireland and Wales circled Coleman, the reaction was reminiscent of the receptions to similar episodes for Arsenal trio Aaron Ramsey, Abou Diaby, and Eduardo. Ramsey has since bounced back from a daft challenge from Ryan Shawcross for a solid professional career, Diaby and Eduardo, not so much.

For Coleman, Bolasie, and now McCarthy, the goal is to avoid a fate similar to that of Diaby and Eduardo, and those of David Busst and Alf-Inge Haaland before them.

"Seamus Coleman is still a way off and he's one we'd like to get back," Toffees boss Sam Allardyce said in December, stating the obvious with a diluted Black Country twang.

After returning to training in September, Coleman has yet to make a first-team appearance for Everton this season, and his return can't come soon enough. With he and fellow first-choice full-back Leighton Baines nursing injuries, the Toffees have relied heavily on Cuca Martina and Jonjoe Kenny, and the results haven't exactly been great.

Bolasie missed 11 months and has looked as speedy as before in giving Everton some much-needed width, Coleman has been out since March and is likely to mirror the recovery time of his Toffees mate, and McCarthy is expected out a year.

"There are times when you don’t know where the end of the road is, or you don’t know when you’re going to be back playing or training. It’s hard to see," Bolasie offered perspective to the Liverpool Echo in December.

"When I started seeing a little bit of light for myself, that was great. But playing again has just been a blessing."

Easily confused for the characteristically prosaic responses that have made athlete soundbites menial and mundane, Bolasie's is as honest as it is sincere.

He just wanted to play again, and for Coleman and McCarthy, it's a sentiment that's easy to empathise with. For the broken and bruised midfielder, at least he doesn't need to look far for precedence in overcoming substantial obstacles.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)