Everton’s manager, Roberto Martínez, has given the club a significant boost by revealing Ross Barkley may make his return to action in eight weeks.

Barkley missed the Premier League match on Saturday, a 2-2 draw with Leicester City, after suffering a knee injury in training and initial reports suggested the England midfielder may be out for around five months. But although it is too soon to suggest a date, Martínez believes the 20-year-old has the strength to make a swift return.

“His knee has reacted really well to treatment,” Martinez told the Everton website. “I don’t know where the figure of five months came from but obviously the extent of the injury is a little unsure at the moment because we don’t know how the next two weeks are going to develop.

“It’s a medial ligament injury and we know that Ross, in terms of the power and the strength that he has in his body, he could easily react to treatment a lot better than other players.

“The length that Ross will be out is a little uncertain at the moment and it could be anything between the eight weeks that we mentioned or a little further. Until the end of the week, or probably the next 10 days, we won’t know how the knee is progressing and how quickly Ross can be back.”