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Everton midfielder James McCarthy feels "well looked after" by the club and is optimistic his hamstring troubles are now behind him. Prior to this month's Merseyside derby, McCarthy's hamstring issue had restricted him to only two appearances since November, and his manager Roberto Martinez was forced to dismiss speculation the 24-year-old had suffered a fresh setback in his rehabilitation. Martinez also said he expected McCarthy would be fully fit for the rest of the season, and the Republic of Ireland international went on to last the full duration against Liverpool, before playing the whole of the second half four days later at Premier League leaders Chelsea. McCarthy has now travelled to Switzerland with his teammates for Thursday's Europa League last-32 first leg against Young Boys. And when asked about his own confidence that he might be injury-free for the remainder of this term, McCarthy said: "I have felt good in the last couple of games and I have been training all week. "It is just good to back, training with the lads and involved in the games. To be honest, I think I have been well looked after off the pitch. "We have changed a few things in training -- the gaffer has looked after me and I have not been training too much, as he has been pulling me out and letting me do things in the gym. "I'm just delighted to be back involved, and long may it continue." As well as McCarthy's first-ever European campaign, Everton are back in continental competition after a five-year absence, and it has gone well so far. He played in four of their six games in a group stage that saw them emerge as winners of their pool with 11 points. And McCarthy added: "It has been brilliant -- so far, so good. But we need to focus on the game [on Thursday] night. It is going to be difficult. "The gaffer has shown us clips of the way in which Young Boys play and this is not an easy place to come, but we look forward to the challenge and then getting them back home to Goodison Park." Young Boys, currently second in the Swiss league, play their home games on an artificial pitch at the Stade de Suisse and have won all five of their Europa League games there this season, including a 2-0 victory over Napoli. In preparation for Thursday's match, Martinez's men have this week been training on a similar surface used by Everton Ladies and the Widnes Vikings rugby league team. And the Spaniard has stressed his confidence that his players are ready for the challenge. "Obviously it is a completely different surface and the bounce of the ball is different," Martinez said. "The home team are a bit more used to those conditions. "But we have done our preparation right -- the whole week we have been working on that sort of surface, and I feel we are ready. "It is not an excuse or a reason for us not to be able to compete in the game."
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