James McCarthy limps out of his first game since November

James McCarthy's return from injury has lasted just 25 minutes.

The Everton midfielder was forced out of Everton's game against Stoke City at Goodison Park today, just three minutes after setting up Romelu Lukaku's equaliser. https://twitter.com/ConorMcNamaraIE/status/681497103714152451 McCarthy was playing his first game in a month. The Republic of Ireland midfielder picked up a hip injury during Everton's 4-4 draw away to Bournemouth, but was deemed fit enough to start today. However, it appears the 24 year old could be facing another spell on the sidelines, with early reports suggesting he picked up a muscular injury. The only positive thing, from the Irish team's point of view, is McCarthy has plenty of time to get over his injury woes and play a starring role in Euro 2016. A few West Ham fans on Twitter seemed happy with McCarthy's setback though. The midfielder has become something of a villain after being involved in a challenge that injured the Hammers' star player Dimitri Payet. https://twitter.com/wogsrus/status/681499003679211522 https://twitter.com/danjameshill/status/681498535276212224 https://twitter.com/c0mPaN10nCuBe/status/681497546062184448 https://twitter.com/darobsta08/status/681497372610945024 https://twitter.com/Joey041992/status/681497192180367360 https://twitter.com/Lawrenceee_B/status/681497810588557314 https://twitter.com/kieran994/status/681496924164329472 https://twitter.com/Callum_Massie/status/681496933974818816 https://twitter.com/Reipha/status/681497440915083265