Fulham 2-1 Everton

Phil Neville could be out for several months after Everton announced today their skipper damaged knee ligaments in the defeat at Fulham.

The defender was carried off after Dickson Etuhu appeared to catch him with his studs when following through on a tackle yesterday.

Club physiotherapist Mick Rathbone said: “An MRI scan this morning has confirmed our fears and it has revealed that Phil has damaged ligaments at the back of his knee.

“He will now rest it for 48 hours to allow the swelling to go down and he will then see a specialist before a decision is made on how best to manage the injury. It's too early to estimate length of absence but I fear he is certainly facing a lengthy lay-off.”

Although David Moyes did not think Etuhu tried to injure Neville, the Everton boss was unhappy with the challenge. Moyes said: “It was a bad miss for the referee Peter Walton. I thought that it warranted a free-kick and a yellow card.”

Neville's absence means Everton have problems at right-back for the visit of AEK Athens on Thursday, with new signing John Heitinga ineligible and Tony Hibbert suspended after being sent off in the second leg against Sigma Olomouc.

By contrast, Fulham go into their Europa League clash full of confidence after coming from behind to beat Everton. And while the oft-repeated mantra of manager Roy Hodgson is that
Premier League survival must remain Fulham's priority this season, Damien Duff insists the club will fully embrace their challenge in Europe.

Duff has declared himself fit for Fulham's first group game in the Europa League at CSKA Sofia on Thursday despite a knee injury bringing a premature end to his man-of-the-match display against the Merseysiders.

“I was a bit nervous when it jarred but I don't think it's a major problem,” said Duff, whose stunning first goal for Fulham since his summer move south from Newcastle proved to be the winner at Craven Cottage.

The threat of injuries to his small squad, plus the pressure of a long fixture list, does concern Hodgson.

But Duff said: “We're not planning on letting it become a major negative factor. Obviously the travelling can be hard at times but the group we've been drawn in (Fulham's other Europa rivals are AS Roma and FC Basel) gives us some nice games, which will give the whole place a lift.

“Hopefully, we can carry that into our League programme. I think it's exciting and when you're excited you're not thinking about burning out.”

Duff will bring a buzz to Fulham this season if yesterday's showing was anything to go by.

The Republic of Ireland international was a livewire down the right and laid on early crosses which Dempsey and Bobby Zamora headed wide.

His hard work was finally rewarded in the 79th minute when Andy Johnson touched the ball to Duff and then cleverly continued running to draw two defenders with him. That left space for Duff to cut inside and unleash a shot that easily beat Tim Howard.

Fulham had fallen behind to a 33rd- minute header from Tim Cahill who managed to beat Brede Hangeland and Etuhu to a curling free-kick. But Paul Konchesky equalised 12 minutes into the second half when he latched onto Danny Murphy's blocked free-kick and saw a volley deflected in.

Hodgson's principle concern for the game in Bulgaria is a neck injury to Mark Schwarzer which meant 23-year-old David Stockdale yesterday made his debut in goal.