Everton midfielder Ross Barkley suffers torn hamstring leaving transfer in doubt

Everton midfielder and England international Ross Barkley has suffered a torn hamstring in training which could mean he faces up to six weeks on the sidelines.

Scans confirmed that the injury is a Grade Three tear, which would mean the 23-year old will be battling to be fully fit before the start of October. Barkley had only just returned to first-team training with Everton following a hernia operation when he had to be helped from the pitch during Monday's training session after pulling up in pain.

This could potentially be a big setback for the young midfielder as he was hoping for a move away from the club during this transfer window. Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal are amongst the clubs interested in Barkley as they believe he would boost competition in their first-team squads.

However, following this injury the clubs may well look elsewhere, particularly with Chelsea who need players who are fully fit following a number of suspensions and injuries.

Last year's champions have increased their interest in Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Leicester's Danny Drinkwater. Meanwhile Tottenham, who have been the club most strongly linked with the England midfielder, are in talks with Celta Vigo for Cheikh Diop and negotiating with Ajax for defender Davinson Sanchez, whose versatility would mean he could also play in midfield.

Everton maintain that they will not sell Barkley cheaply this month but he only has one year remaning on his contract, which would mean his value will diminish significantly if they hold onto him until January, at which point he will also be able to talk to foreign clubs. However, the injury could make it difficult for Everton to offload their midfielder during this window.

Everton are also hoping to get the £45 million deal for Swansea´s Gylfi Sigurdsson over the line before the weekend and his pending arrival cleared the way for veteran midfielder Gareth Barry to join West Bromwich Albion for £1m.