Marko Arnautovic is clear of a hamstring injury after the £25 million record signing went through a second scan earlier today.
That was the good news for Hammers boss David Moyes as the recent five goal Hammers hero was discovered to be suffering from no more than a tight hamstring and is expected to be available for the match at Huddersfield next weekend.
He will have been given a decent rest by then having missed the Spurs clash and hopes are high he will be back for the crucial run of games against team around us in the table up to February 10.
Meanwhile, Sam Byram is set to become the next of the long term injured to return to the squad within the next to weeks after being laid off with a thigh problem.
However, there are no return dates at this stage for James Collins or Michail Antonio although there are hopes the Hammer of last year could feature against Huddersfield.
That’s a big relief….hopefully the med team can fix him up ready for next week …..but with the tempo that’s needed in the up coming games I think Mr moyes will use him tentatively..if we can get Antonio fit again I for one will be over the moon as our next 3 games are massive …..COYI
Spot on , Hammer . Another plus would be Hart moving to Newcastle .
With Arnie being given the green light, i would like to see Antonio and Byram back soon. Zab is getting slower and slower as the season goes on and we can’t have Kouyate keep coming across to cover for him.
With Arnie on one wing cutting in and Antonio on the other doing the same, that will hopefully be the potent force we were all hoping for since the beginning of the season. That then should give Manu the freedom in the middle of the park he needs to work his magic.
Keep playing the back 3 of Reid, Ogbonna and Rice to give Adrian some continuity in front of him. If Chich, Ayew and Carroll can keep the goals coming in up top, we should see this season start to pick up more.
I’d really like to see Byram on the right of a back 3 with ogbonna and rice alongside. I think the added pace and I think he would cover zab better when he is caught out of possession. Or stick Antonio as the right wing back. Arnie and Hernandez up front with Oxford as the defensive midfielder.