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London - Everton striker Romelu Lukaku will be unavailable for "weeks rather than months" after injuring his ankle in his side's 4-0 loss at Liverpool, manager Roberto Martinez has revealed on Wednesday.
Lukaku was stretchered off after colliding with team-mate Gareth Barry as Steven Gerrard headed Liverpool in front in the 21st minute of Tuesday's derby at Anfield.
Martinez expressed concern about the extent of the injury after the game, saying "it does not look good", but he was able to offer a more positive prognosis on Wednesday.
"There is no ligament damage and the injury is not as bad as we first thought," he told the Everton website.
"It will be a case of weeks rather than months."
Lukaku, 20, has scored nine goals in 20 games for Everton since signing on loan from Chelsea last year.
Meanwhile, Everton have announced that experienced French centre-back Sylvain Distin has extended his contract by one year.
"Defender Sylvain Distin has signed a one-year contract extension," read a statement on the club website.
"The new deal will keep the 36-year-old at Goodison Park until the summer of 2015."
Distin follows in the footsteps of Everton's England left-back Leighton Baines, who signed a new four-year contract on Monday.
