Moyes eyeing Donovan boost

Moyes eyeing Donovan boost

Published Jan. 4, 2012 7:15 a.m. ET

Donovan is available for selection for Wednesday night's home match against Bolton - the first time the United States international has been eligible since it was announced in December that he was rejoining the Toffees on a two-month loan deal from the Los Angeles Galaxy. The 29-year-old proved a success in a stint of the same duration with Everton in 2010 and says he now feels "more prepared". Moyes says Donovan has bedded in well on his return to the club so far, although he has stressed that it is difficult to make any real judgement as to how the forward might fare until he takes to the pitch for a competitive game. Asked if he thought Donovan had "hit the ground running" in training, Moyes said: "He looks okay, I have to say, but how can you tell? "Even though we have seen some football, we have not seen any games yet. "But fitness-wise he is not someone who carries a lot of weight. He is quite lightweight and he looks okay. "He came before and did well for us - scored a couple of goals, played well and showed some qualities. "We are hoping over his time here he will do that again, but we have to remember it's only a short loan. "He has settled in very quickly, so we look forward to getting him in the game and seeing how he does." Everton and Bolton's players will wear black armbands on Wednesday night as a mark of respect to Gary Ablett, and the Merseyside club have confirmed there will also be a period of silence ahead of the FA Cup third-round tie at home against Tamworth on Saturday. News emerged on Monday that former Toffees defender and coach Ablett - who also played for Liverpool - had died at the age of 46 after a 16-month fight against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Speaking about Ablett on Monday, Moyes said: "It was a really sad moment when I heard about Gary. "He has been coming to our training ground quite regularly since he became ill. I went to see him in hospital when he first got diagnosed and since then I've kept a real close watch on how he is going. "I think there were good signs at times, but then we heard bad news at different times that he wasn't so well. "He was in with his boys not too long ago and he came and watched a bit of training - we tried to keep him involved as much as we could. "But I think in his own mind, Gary probably knew himself - I'm sure he did. "All I can say is that my thoughts are with his wife and family, and we will miss him greatly here."

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