Jarrod Bowen will be cheering his West Ham United teammates on when they take to the pitch at London Stadium to take on Crystal Palace this weekend.
The captain is working his way back to fitness after sustaining a fracture in his foot during the Premier League match with Liverpool on 29 December.
Bowen’s recovery is going well, but he will not be ready to take on the Eagles, against whom he scored in the reverse fixture at Selhurst Park back in August.
While he will not be able to get on the scoresheet again on Saturday afternoon, the No20 will be in the dressing room and on the bench cheering the Irons on as they seek to complete a first Premier League double of the season.
Tickets for Saturday's sold-out London derby are still available on the Ticket Exchange, with Season Ticket Holders who cannot attend this fixture relisting their seats for other supporters to buy. Click HERE to check availability or relist.
“Personally, I’m good,” Bowen revealed. “I’m still a way off in my recovery but trying to do as much as I can to get back out here. I think everyone knows me, and that I hate not playing football! That’s my mindset. I hate not being part of winning games.
“We have a new Head Coach [Graham Potter] and I want to be working with him and be out on the pitch with the lads, but I think my role now is to be being around the lads, keep the spirits high and ultimately the lads are the ones doing that by putting in good performances, winning games and seeing them do that is really nice.
“If we keep winning it will be a question of if I can get back into the team. I'm itching to get back. I hate being injured, so I always try and beat the recovery time that the physios or doctors or specialists tell me and get out there as soon as possible. That’s my little challenge to myself, so if I can beat it by a couple of weeks I'll be happy! For this next few weeks, though, I’ll be working hard on that and supporting the lads as a fan.”
After defeating Fulham 3-2 on Tuesday evening, West Ham go into their second London derby in the space of five days targeting back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time this season.
Another three-point haul would also boost the Hammers’ chances of climbing into the top half of the table and launching a challenge for European qualification in the second half of the season.
“If the lads can go out, show the same desire and same work-rate as they did on Tuesday night, I think we'll be in a really good position to win Saturday’s game as well,” Bowen continued. “That's all we can do, win our games and that's the focus and mindset of the players and that's what everyone wants.
“We know Crystal Palace well. They're a really good side and they've picked up some good results. We know their system, the way they play under their manager, Oliver Glasner, as we played against his Eintracht Frankfurt team [in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals in 2021/22], and we've played enough games against them now to understand what he wants.
“It’s a different challenge to Fulham but again it's a tough challenge, but we can use what the lads did on Tuesday night to our advantage. We're going into it with a bit of confidence, the fans obviously have got a new energy, a new Head Coach, and a new kind of dynamic.
“The fans were great on Tuesday night getting the lads over the line as well, and they're going to need all that energy again this afternoon. That comes from everyone within the Club, that comes from the fans, and that comes from the players putting on a good display.
“We've got to really start making our home ground a really difficult place to come. If we can be really good at home and get good results here, we can get the whole place bouncing, so I think it's important to do that and important to back up a really good performance and win on Tuesday night and go out there with exactly the same mindset to get six points from the two games and really kick on.”
If you want to join Jarrod Bowen at London Stadium on Saturday, seats for this sold-out game are still available on the Ticket Exchange, with Season Ticket Holders who cannot attend this fixture relisting their seats for other supporters to buy. Click HERE to check availability or relist.
