The Scotland striker is expected to return to the squad for tonight's Barclays Premiership home clash with Fulham, having missed eight matches with a broken metatarsal.

He scored twice in his comeback for the reserves in midweek, and can expect at least a place on the bench against the West Londoners.

McFadden reports no ill-effects following that second team run-out and hopes to be involved over Easter, with a Bank Holiday Monday trip to Bolton following Fulham's visit to Goodison Park.

McFadden said: "My foot is all right and it is good to be back playing. Now I want to be involved in the race to get into the UEFA Cup.

"The rehabilitation went as well as can be expected and we gave it an extra week to make sure everything was all right and it has paid off because it feels great."

Boss David Moyes has already expressed his pleasure at McFadden's return, and the player is happy to leave the boss to make the decisions as to when he will feature again for the first team.

He said: "I didn't imagine that I would feel this good so soon, so it is up to the manager.

"We have got a lot of games coming up and hopefully I can get back in sooner rather than later, but I maybe need another couple of reserve games.

"We have got this push for European football and hopefully I can be a part of that.

Moyes believes Everton must grab the opportunity presenting itself as the prospect of a top-six finish grows.

He said: "This is a game we have to win. We are playing well and full of confidence.

"They are going about the place believing they can play, that they are good players and we want that to continue.

"We need to give ourselves a physiological boost, to get the points before everyone else plays on Saturday.

"This is going to be a race for Europe that will go right to the wire, so we have to keep winning and keep playing well.

"We beat Arsenal here in our last home game, so we must build on that."