"The gaffer has not said yet, and in football you don't take anything for granted, but if I play I will enjoy it," he says modestly, but, following his signing from Fulham last week it is a fair bet that he will make his full debut with Nigel Winterburn going into hospital on Thursday for a wrist operation.
Equally certain is the fact that Fredi will be making his first start since his aborted comeback game against Rufus' old club in December - and he is looking forward to combining with him.
"Fredi is a very strong player who holds the ball up very well so I hope he will make a bit of a difference," he says.
"He is a very, very good player; I think he has scored at Fulham and he has always been a handful.
"He is technically good and has a good touch for a big man, he is excellent in the air, holds the ball up, and he is strong - hopefully he can use all those qualities against Leeds."
Rufus' former boss, Jean Tigana, is a confirmed admirer of Fredi, and Rufus confirms:
"From what I can gather, he quite liked him!"
The new boy is having no second thoughts about joining West Ham despite the defeat on his debut against Liverpool.
"I have got the first one out of the way; obviously it was disappointing but things can only get better from there," he says.
"I thought the fans were good; there was a full house and have not been given much to cheer about of late so hopefully we can give them that in the last 12 games.
"There is quality throughout, if you look at the squad and the players we have got, and we just have to put a string of results together that will get us out of the mess we are in.
"I think we will beat the drop and I wouldn't have come here if I thought we were going to be playing first division football next year.
Looking ahead, he says:
"You have just got to take one game at a time and it is Leeds on Saturday, which is going to be difficult - but it is definitely winnable.
"We have to go out and try to win games, it is simple as that; a draw away at Leeds is not a bad result but we are obviously looking over our shoulder at other results, so if we can nick it against Leeds the confidence will be up and we can take it from there."
Leeds have their own problems, but Rufus adds:
"They are not in a crisis by any means; they have got a very strong squad but hopefully we can go up there and do something."
Rufus insists that those out on the field are the culpable ones if things are not going well, and he concludes:
"Players have got to be responsible; if we are not performing the fans will let us know - and the manager will definitely let us know.
"We have to take that defeat on Sunday and learn from it."
* The reserve game at Tottenham Hotspur, originally set for Monday, 24th February at Stevenage Borough, will now be played on Tuesday, 25th February.