Everton’s dual hopes of winning the FA Cup and challenging for a European place via the Barclays Premier League have suffered a setback after it emerged that Tim Howard has broken two bones in his back.

Howard will miss today’s sixth-round FA Cup tie against Wigan Athletic and is unlikely to be available for the next month after the extent of his injury was discovered. His absence means that Jan Mucha, who has made only eight appearances — seven of them in the League Cup— for Everton since joining from Legia Warsaw three years ago, will take over in goal.

Howard sustained the injury during the later stages of Everton’s 3-1 win over Oldham Athletic in the previous round, but the extent of the problem