Romelu Lukaku underlined his importance to Everton’s European ambitions by marking his comeback from injury with a late winner against stubborn West Ham.

The big Belgian defied a chest infection to come off the bench for his first action since January and fire home the decisive goal nine minutes from the end.

His manager, Roberto Martinez, claimed Lukaku’s ankle knock sustained against Liverpool might prove a blessing in disguise.

‘It is good to have Romelu back — we’ve missed him because he is a very influential player,’ said Martinez of the Chelsea loanee.

‘It is important to have him back at this stage of the season. I just feel the injury was exactly what he needed.

‘He’s just 20 and this is the first season he’s been played regularly for 90 minutes. He was suffering a bit in January because of the demands of the league — now I think we are going to see the best of him.

‘He can be as good as he wants to be. You won’t find that strength and power in many players and he’s proving to be a clinical finisher as well. He has everything.’

Everton just about deserved to win, having enjoyed 75 per cent possession in the first half and seen Steven Pienaar denied a hat-trick early in the second.

But West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, who hooked Carlton Cole after half-an-hour, pleaded injustice when Gareth Barry appeared to impede Kevin Nolan and deny him a goalscoring opportunity in the first half.

‘I had a clear view of Barry pulling Nolan down,’ he said. ‘That was a key moment because I would’ve banked on Kevin scoring that goal given the form he’s in. And it looked as if it should have been a red card, too.

‘We did a sterling job defending but didn’t do enough at the other end. We were very close, but this league is cruel.’

Everton dominated the first half without threatening Hammers keeper Adrian, while Allardyce cited Cole’s poor hold-up play as his reason for replacing him with World Cup hopeful Andy Carroll.

The big Geordie, returning after a three-match ban, had little opportunity to show he is worth a punt by England boss Roy Hodgson. He shot straight at Tim Howard with his only effort on goal.

Martinez sent on Lukaku around the hour and, in time, the change worked. Leighton Baines surged forward before squaring a cross to Lukaku, who reacted quicker than the West Ham defence to thump it home first time.

—Daily Mail