While 2017 was just about as nightmarish as it could be on the field, events on either side of the touchlines have given Coleman plenty of reason to smile in the first month of 2018. Absent from football following the horror leg break against Wales at the Aviva last March, Coleman is nearing a return to first-team football.
Sam Allardyce issued an update on Coleman's fitness at his press briefing today.
Seamus Coleman is close to coming back. He’s back in training and that’s another bonus for us.
Coleman has seen the form of both his club and international side nosedive during his recuperation. Ireland won just two of the seven competitive games played since the Welsh game in Dublin, while Everton's muddled summer recruitment saw them slide down the table, leading to Ronald Koeman's departure. Sam Allardyce provided a brief spark, but in recent weeks they've lost four games in a row and are winless in six.
The club have signed Cenuk Tosun and Theo Walcott in order to arrest the slide, but once he is back to full fitness, there is little doubt that Coleman will force his way back into the Everton first-team.
It's further good news for Coleman this week, having yesterday celebrated the birth of his second child.
A new arrival for the Coleman family. Congratulations to all and a warm welcome to baby Ellie @Everton https://t.co/HtJo0a2pyn pic.twitter.com/uWyact7SlR
— Donegal Democrat (@dgldemocrat) January 17, 2018
