Everton manager Roberto Martinez has revealed that he is expecting Phil Jagielka to be ready to return from his knee injury before the end of the month.

The club's captain has been sidelined with a knee ligament injury since the team's defeat to Arsenal in October.

"It's difficult to put a timescale on Phil. He's started off because he hasn't got the brace and the recovery now needs to be monitored day by day then gradually we need to see how quickly we can build him up," the Liverpool Echo quotes Martinez as saying.

"I expect him to be back before the end of 2015 which would be a major, major boost."

Everton host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday.