- Slaven Bilic confirms captain Mark Noble will be fit to face Hull City on Saturday
- Skipper missed the home defeat by Leicester City with a muscle injury
- Michail Antonio also progressing well and could be available to tackle Arsenal
Slaven Bilic has confirmed that captain Mark Noble will be fit to face former club Hull City in the Premier League on Saturday.
The skipper missed the 3-2 home defeat by Leicester City after picking up a painful and restrictive muscle injury in training, but Noble has since returned to full training and is set to return at the KCOM Stadium.
Noble, who spent a short spell on loan at Hull as a teenager, will bolster a midfield that will be without the absent Pedro Obiang and Michail Antonio, both of whom suffered leg injuries while playing against the Foxes a fortnight ago.
“Mark is back in training and he came back on Monday,” Bilic confirmed. “He’s training so he should be in the squad. He’s been out for a couple of weeks because of the injury he had in a couple of games against Chelsea and Bournemouth, but he’s back.”
Mark has been out for a couple of weeks because of the injury he had in a couple of games against Chelsea and Bournemouth, but he’s back
Slaven Bilic
The manager also had a positive update regarding Antonio, suggesting the winger could recover from his muscle injury in time to face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium next Wednesday evening.
“He has to pull out of the England squad, we know that, and he was very close to being fit for the Hull game, but he isn’t going to be fit,” said Bilic. “Hopefully, there is a good chance he is going to be OK for the Arsenal game, but this game unfortunately comes a bit too early for him, so he’s out.
“As I said after the Leicester game, Michail is really good at recovering, so there was a chance he could make it for this game, but unfortunately not. I spoke with the medical team and with him and we have a good chance he is going to be fit for Arsenal in midweek, if not, definitely Swansea.”
Antonio was one of three Hammers who suffered setbacks against Leicester, with Pedro Obiang requiring surgery on a high ankle sprain and Winston Reid injuring his hamstring.
“We got three players injured in that game,” Bilic confirmed. “Pedro had an operation very successfully, but he’s going to be fit for the start of the pre-season for next year, so he’s out.
“Then Reidy is going to be out for another four weeks, so he has a chance to come back for the last games.
“With Pedro, we knew it was going to be hard because it required an operation, as I said, and with Reidy it’s a bigger one, but with Michail we were optimistic from the start because he didn’t come off. He played the whole game but he felt something, but it’s nothing major but he isn’t going to be ready for the game against Hull.”