Ross Barkley, who has not played this season because of a knee injury, will start training with Everton next week, the club’s website reported on Friday.

The 20-year-old was ruled out for up to eight weeks on the eve of the Premier League campaign after damaging ligaments in training and Roberto Martínez is hoping the England midfielder will be available for selection by the end of the month.

“He’ll be like a fresh, new player for us,” the Everton manager said. “From Monday I want him to be part of it and in probably a couple of weeks we should be able to see Ross in the squad.

“Now it’s a matter of getting him match fitness and getting him up to speed. Ross has been working really well and I don’t expect any setbacks. I expect Ross, from now on, to have a real clear path to get his match fitness back.”

Martínez is also confident his squad can cope without the defender John Stones, who is sidelined with ankle ligament damage until at least December. “We want to see John reaching that level again. We know John will come back stronger and as a better player going into the second part of the season,” he said.

“But Antolín Alcaraz is working well and so is Tyias Browning, who can play that position. We’ve got another two young players who have been doing really well. I don’t want to lose any players who are doing well but injuries are part of the game.”