Atsu suffers hamstring injury with Everton

Chelsea loanee Christian Atsu would have been hoping to get a full 90 minutes in Everton's dead-rubber Europa League match against Krasnodar. The young winger hadn't managed to get much of a look at Goodison Park so far this year, but he was named to the lineup for the Merseysiders' sixth game of the group stages.

His evening lasted all of eight minutes.

Gareth Barry pinged a through pass for Atsu to chase on the right, and the Ghanaian twisted, hared after the ball, and then pulled up just before the line with a hamstring injury. After lying on the pitch for a little while, Atsu hobbled over to Roberto Martinez and after a brief conversation went strait down the tunnel for treatment.

Obviously it's unclear just how long he'll be out, and I hope that his withdrawal was at least partially precautionary  -- there's no need to risk his health in a game that doesn't mean anything to Everton's season -- but right now things don't look great. Bounce back soon please, Christian.