Brazilian striker Jo has been suspended by the club indefinitely after he went on an unscheduled festive break to his homeland.
This rendered him unavailable for the matches against Sunderland and Burnley - two games he would probably have figured in given the fact that Louis Saha is injured and Yakubu has buggered off to join the Nigerian squad ahead of the African Cup of African Nations Cup...and there's another AWOL story waiting to happen!
David Moyes is now looking at the possibility of cutting short the Brazilian's year-long loan period and sending him back to Manchester City this month.
But, given the striker's less-than-impressive performances and goal return this season, this may be just the excuse the Everton manager has been looking for to get Jo off the wage bill.
After seeing off Carlisle in the third round of the FA Cup, Everton were given another home tie in the fourth round.
The Blues were drawn against the winners of the third round replay between Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest.
The last time we faced Birmingham at home was a couple of weeks ago when we came away with a 1-1 draw despite battering them for most of the game.
The last time we played Forest at home was January 30th 1999 when a 51st minute goal from Pierre van Hooijdonk was enough to secure a 1-0 win for the away side.
In a forgettable season for both teams, Forest finished bottom with just 30 points and the Blues wound up in 14th spot with a heady 43 points.
