Everton defender John Stones is set to make a return against QPR on Monday night.

Stones, 20, was expected to be sidelined until the New Year after suffering ankle ligament damage in the defeat to Manchester United at the start of October.

Roberto Martinez will assess Stones, James McCarthy, Steven Naismith and Darron Gibson ahead of Monday's game with QPR.

"I hope all four have an opportunity to be involved. All four have different situations, but we are assessing them," said Martinez.

"John is ahead of schedule, probably by two or three weeks, but I expected that because he is such a quick healer.

"He has trained once with the team and now it is just about making a decision on when to bring him into a competitive game again."