Everton duo Yerry Mina and James Rodriguez will miss Thursday's clash with Aston Villa.

Mina suffered an adductor problem against West Ham United last Sunday, while James has missed the last two matches with a calf problem.

But Carlo Ancelotti hopes his two Colombian stars will be available to face Sheffield United on Sunday.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Ancelotti said: "James will start to train with the team on Friday.

"And if the training is good on Friday and Saturday, he will play on Sunday against Sheffield United.

"He is pain-free now, he has no problem, but he hasn't trained with the squad so I cannot put him at risk tomorrow [against Villa].

"Yerry had a problem on his adductor. It is not a big problem. He tried to train yesterday but he was a little bit uncomfortable. I hope to recover him for the game against Sheffield United.

"Even if he does not play on Sunday, I think he can play in the last two games of the season. He has a really small problem."