Julen Lopetegui says he will continue to monitor the fitness of striker Niclas Füllkrug ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Brentford.
The Hammers Head Coach has been without the services of the Germany international since he suffered a injury in his calf and Achilles area whilst on international duty.
While the forward has been edging closer to a return, he sat out the midweek Carabao Cup third-round defeat at Liverpool.
Now, with the team back in east London as they prepare for yet another London derby in the league, the boss says they will use the next two days to make a decision.
One player who will definitely be missing at the Gtech Community Stadium, however, is Edson Álvarez, who is due to serve a one-match ban after being sent-off at Anfield.
“The players who missed the Liverpool game, I don’t know yet,” Lopetegui said, speaking at Rush Green.
“We haven’t trained yet [at the time of the press conference on Thursday lunchtime] so we will see again in two hours between us and evaluate how we are.
“It is true that we had the red card for Edson, so for sure he is out. Füllkrug has not been available until now, so let’s see what happens between today and tomorrow.
“Unfortunately he was not available on Wednesday, so we will have to wait but at the moment he is out with his calf. [It is] a little injury, but until now he is not available.”
Of his own fitness, the Head Coach confirmed he suffered a calf problem while on the touchline at Anfield. However, he stressed that his own injury is of little importance as he focuses on his players.
“I can’t play in the next match! I have a little injury in my calf, but I don’t play so it’s not important,” he stated.
West Ham's starting XI for Saturday's game in west London will be confirmed at 1.45pm BST on matchday.
