Silva – closing in on a return

West Ham’s players all emerged with a clean bill of health after last night’s battle of Villa Park.

The entire squad reported fit after the game and will be available for Sunday’s big game against Manchester United at the London Stadium.

It makes a refreshing change – given the injury history of the Hammers squad – for 90 minutes to pass without any of them finding themselves requiring some form of treatment.

And with Winston Reid and Xande Silva recovering ,  the squad is currently in its best place for a long time with only Michail Antonio injured and likely to be out of action for an extended period.

A Hammers insider told us on the phone this morning: “Everybody is fine. It was the kind of game which was so keenly fought some injuries may have been expected but last night’s squad will be available for action on Sunday.”

Both Reid and Silva are in full  training and being lined up for Under 23 appearances over the ext two to three weeks with Reid’s possibly coming as early as Friday night at Middlesbrough.