Everton boss David Moyes has revealed that Ross Barkley is ready to return to first-team action at the club.

The 18-year-old has been identified as one of the best young talents in England, but Moyes has admitted that he has had to hold the teenager back after a long injury lay-off.

"My intention was to reintroduce Ross back into the first-team squad – my idea was always to do it around April time, but give him some months of games first," Moyes told The Mirror.

"When he came into the first team, he was ready to play. He'd trained all summer, he'd been training for months to recover from his triple broken leg. But there was a big dip not long after.

"Now I'm looking to re-introduce him again towards the end of the season, when I think it's a little bit easier to do."

Barkley recently signed a contract extension at Goodison Park until 2016.

Written by
Matt Law