Stay in control of the latest Blues news with our Everton newsletter Sign up now Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Roberto Martinez says he could not afford to gamble with Romelu Lukaku's fitness after taking him off earlier than planned against Dundee.

But the Everton manager insists the £28m striker has not suffered a hamstring problem as first feared but, instead, was experiencing muscle fatigue.

Lukaku left the field at Dens Park, after 32 minutes, appearing to hold his left leg and fears grew that he had become the latest victim of Everton's hamstring curse.

But Martinez, whose side won 2-0 over Dundee, says a packed pre-season programme had caught up with the 22-year-old and he was withdrawn as a precaution.

"Rom has been playing a lot of minutes and after the first 25 minutes he was feeling his legs being a little too heavy so we didn't want to take any risks," Martinez said.

"It is not a problem at all. He got a lot of good work in the two games we had up here and in Singapore.

"We have a little period before the weekend to make sure he is ready and refreshed and in a way with good volume without being over-worked. It was part of the exercise."