West Ham United Head Coach Julen Lopetegui says Niclas Füllkrug is improving day-by-day on his way back to full fitness, and believes he’s ready to make an impact in the remainder of the season.
The Germany international made his long-awaited return to action at Leicester City after three months out with an Achilles problem, where he made an instant impression with his first goal for the Club, off the bench.
Now his injury troubles are fully behind him, he is set to be a key part of Lopetegui’s plans in the busy part of the 2024/25 campaign, and ahead of Monday evening's Premier League trip to AFC Bournemouth, the Spanish boss explained how pleased he has been with Füllkrug's progress over recent days.
“I think he [Füllkrug] has been out for a long time with the injury that he had, and now he’s recovered and making his body better day-by-day,” said Lopetegui, speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
“I think it’s good news for us that he’s come back and he’s going to be ready to help us. Let’s see if he’s going to be ready for Bournemouth, but step-by-step he feels better and stronger, and we can use him in any moment.
“He’s 100 per cent recovered [from his injury], and that’s why he’s been working with the team for the last ten days. He’s ready.”
Elsewhere, West Ham are set to be without defender Emerson for the under-the-lights clash at Vitality Stadium, after he picked up his fifth booking of 2024/25 in the 2-1 win over Wolves last time out, while Michail Antonio is recovering from surgery on a lower limb fracture suffered in a road traffic accident last weekend, and will be absent.
Lopetegui also revealed that two other unnamed players have been recovering from knocks behind the scenes at Rush Green, and hinted that the availability of both will become clearer over the weekend.
He added: “We have two little issues that we sustained in the last game [against Wolves].
“We’re going to check [their availability] in the next couple of days and will make a late decision.”
