Head Coach Julen Lopetegui insists he will have to wait until closer to kick-off to gauge a clearer idea of whether Emerson or Niclas Füllkrug could be involved in Saturday’s lunchtime clash against Chelsea.
The Hammers are set to host the Blues looking for their first points at home this season, having fallen to defeats against Aston Villa and Manchester City, while picking up a win and a draw on the road at Crystal Palace and Fulham respectively.
Defender Emerson was withdrawn with a knock shortly before the hour mark at Craven Cottage last weekend, casting doubt over his availability for a clash against his former team Chelsea, who he represented 71 times before heading across the capital in August 2022.
But boss Lopetegui refused to rule him out of what would be his sixth appearance of 2024/25, with Emerson having started each of West Ham’s four top-flight outings on the left side of the backline so far.
“Fortunately, it wasn’t a big knock for Emerson,” Lopetegui said, speaking in his pre-match press conference at the Rush Green training ground.
“It’s still Thursday and so 48 hours or so before the match, so there is still time where we need to review things. We will evaluate him again tomorrow [Friday] and see where we are.”
While the Spanish Head Coach explained that every member of his squad will be analysed and worked with ahead of matchday, he mentioned that German forward Niclas Füllkrug is another player fighting for full fitness.
The 31-year-old picked up an injury related to his Achilles tendon and calf muscle while on international duty earlier this month, and was subsequently absent against Fulham last time out.
Lopetegui added: “We are trying to recover all the players, and we have to wait until the day before the game to know more about all of them.
“That includes Niclas. He has had a different kind of problem to Emerson, and really we just have to wait until Friday to know what is going to happen.”
