Season › 2013-14 › News Martinez has high hopes for Ivorian striking duo Lyndon Lloyd , 10 May, 0comments | Jump to most recent Roberto Martinez says that both Arouna Kone and Lacina Traore can be very important players for Everton as the former recovers from a potentially career-ending knee injury and the latter looks to earn another season-long loan. Speaking with ToffeeWeb and other Everton fan site representatives at Finch Farm this past week, the manager expressed his confidence that Kone will make up for a disastrous first season at Goodison by becoming a clear success next term. Martinez explained that it was "touch-and-go" for the 30 year-old's future at one point as the club's medical staff assessed the knee cartilage injury he suffered last summer and the resulting surgery that was required to correct it. And while he hasn't been able to figure at the end of this season as Martinez hoped he would a few months ago, Kone is on the mend and has his sights set on a fresh start in August. "Arouna will be a real success at Everton," Martinez said. "This has been a disaster of a season for him. At one point we were very fearful that he wouldn't be able to come back from it because it was such a bad injury to the knee. He had a problem with the meniscus and he lost a big part of it. The operation was very successful. Now he's running. "He's a great number 9, a fantastic target man with the technical ability to hold the play and link the play. He's a good finisher and he can be a massive asset." The Spaniard is similarly bullish on Traore's prospects and hopes to include the 6' 8" striker in the squad for tomorrow's game against Hull. After that, it appears to be a question of seeing whether Monaco will release him on loan again seeing as he has managed just 60 minutes of football for Everton since arriving in January. "I hope that he is fit for Sunday so he can be involved," Martinez continued. "He's quite unique in what he brings. When you see a tall guy like him you don't expect him to be so coordinated in possession of the ball. It's shame that he's had the ongoing concern of a hamstring injury. “He has adapted really well. The first time he watched a game at Goodison he just fell in love. He told his agent that I love the club already, I want to play here." A week after his goalscoring debut in the FA Cup against Swansea, the 23 year-old was set to make his first Premier League start at Stamford Bridge but tore his hamstring before the match had even kicked off, sidelining him for the last three months. "The warmup at Chelsea was a such a disappointment. Samuel Eto'o was telling Willian, introducing Traore, explaining [how Chelsea should be] very wary of his quality and talking about how to defend him. "I think Lacina has the potential to be a really important player for us," Martinez concluded, more than hinting that he is confident Traore will be at Goodison next season. click here For the full interview About these ads © ToffeeWeb