Gianfranco Zola looks like having the luxury of a strong squad as he takes his West Ham United team to Hull City on Sunday.
His international players have all returned safely and are in contention for the weekend fixture, including Craig Bellamy who got two good run-outs for Wales and could make his first club start this campaign. The striker's availability will put pressure on Matthew Etherington, David Di Michele and Carlton Cole, while Freddie Sears is also challenging. It all means the manager can afford to leave Diego Tristan behind to focus on his sharpness after signing a permanent deal last week.
"Everybody is fine," the manager said. "There are no major problems and they should all be all right." Zola confirmed that James Collins, who also played a full 90 minutes for Wales against Germany on Wednesday having not made a senior start since last December, and Lee Bowyer were in contention for his travelling party.
Zola revealed the two other long-term absentees Kieron Dyer (double leg break) and Danny Gabbidon (abdominal) are "doing very well but are not yet ready". Jonathan Spector (hip) is due back at the club next week while a welcome sight at Chadwell Heath in the past couple of days has been Dean Ashton. He is still some way off a return from his left ankle injury but the arrival of Tristan has helped the attacking options.
The manager will not rush the Spanish striker into action, though. "It's too early for Tristan. It will take him a couple of weeks to be fit for the Premier League," Zola said. "I brought him to the club firstly because he is a good player and secondly because Dean Ashton is injured." He added that he would challenge Carlton Cole in the "target man" role, and help cover the striker who has been troubled by minor knocks of late.
Of Tristan, the manager continued: "He has been training for two weeks and I have to say he has impressed me very much in his finishing and the way he moves on the pitch is perfect for the way we play. Hopefully now we're going to get him back physically the way he was and he will be a very good signing for us. He just needs to work on his fitness a little bit so he can be back at this best. I spoke to him and he looks confident and focused and that for me is very important."
While Tristan has arrived, Zola confirmed that he intends to cut the squad in future and was not interested in January signings. It will be a case of preserving quality over quantity. "Right now I'm really not concerned about buying anybody. I think, right here, I have got everything I need to achieve our target.
"We have a lot of players here and I can only play eleven players plus seven on the bench. It is a big squad when I have everybody back from injury. Certainly I will have to make some choices." He continues to work closely with CEO Scott Duxbury and is more than confident about the future progression of the squad. "He said the situation has not changed for the team as the club is OK," Zola added.