But the Algeria international has now made a full recovery and is ready to kickstart his career in east London and help the Hammers move away from the bottom three....
Sofiane, how disappointed you were with the result against Southampton on Sunday and how confident are you that the Club can turn things around?
SF: “We are discussing the reasons for our start to the season in the dressing room. We have suffered due to a series of injuries to some key players. That alone has caused us some issues at the start of the season.
“We also had quite a few games in a short period due to the Europa League and so physically we struggled a bit. Slowly but surely, physically we are getting back to fitness. I know personally that I need time on the pitch to improve my own match fitness and to get back my rhythm.
“I am sure that in the coming weeks as we get some of our players back to fitness, we will start to perform better as a team.”
How important is this next period of games for the Club starting with the Middlesbrough game on Sunday?
SF: “Our objective is to win every match and by doing so, we can start to improve our league position.
“We have quality in this squad, but it is down to us to improve and to take the responsibility on our shoulders.
“We need to focus on the games one by one and that begins in our match against Middlesbrough. After that, we can start to look at the next game.”
You will be coming up some familiar faces on Saturday having played with Alvaro Negredo and Antonio Barragan during your time in Valencia. How would you describe them as players?
SF: “Alvaro is a true striker. He has a cool head in front of goal and can cause teams real problems.
“Antonio is a defender who loves to get forward and he is very effective on the wing creating danger each and every time he pushes on.
“Both Alvaro and Antonio are great guys with brilliant characters and are an asset in the dressing room because they both create a positive atmosphere.”
You have now played in front of the West Ham fans in the Premier League. How would you describe the atmosphere at London Stadium?
SF: “It is really exciting for us to play in front of so many fans at home. We hope that they can continue to support us and push us on throughout the ninety minutes so that we can start winning games at home.
“We will be doing everything we can to make them happy and we need to get a win to improve the confidence of the squad and to help us to start climbing the table.”
It’s been a couple of months since you joined the Club, how are you settling into life here in the Premier League?
SF: “I am really happy to be in England and playing for West Ham. Playing in a new league, in a new country and with a new way of life is an incredibly rewarding experience and one that I am enjoying.
“After six years in Spain with Valencia, I am pleased with how things are going at the Club.
“It was obviously annoying to have picked up an injury so early on in my career with West Ham, preventing me from starting the season as I would have liked to.
“I am getting back my form and hopefully, in the next couple of weeks and with some game time, I can get back to feeling 100 per cent.”