Angelo Ogbonna is this morning being tipped to return to the West Ham squad that will face champions, Chelsea, at the Boleyn on the 24 October.
The former Juventus central defender pulled his hamstring in the 2-0 win over Newcastle and was thought to be out for around four League games. This would have meant a return against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
But although he is making decent progress, the plan will be to ensure he is not rushed back before he is 100 per cent fit – an underlying keynote of Slaven Bilic’s management style, as shown with Andy Carroll.
And ClaretandHugh was told this morning: “He would probably be ready in time for Selhurst Park, but we aren’t into taking chances. Slaven is very careful with the injured lads .”
Our source pointed out that with James Tomkins performing so well alongside Winston Reid, at the heart of defence, there is ample cover at the moment and there is no reason to become over anxious about the situation.
Indeed Ogbonna could return just a week before Alex Song is fit to make his seasonal reappearance, as Song is targeting the Watford away match for his eagerly awaited comeback.
Good news .
Both are first choice players !
And will be needed for sure at some point.
Ogbonna looked good to me and should keep improving as he settles into a new team, country & lifestyle. Cant wait for Song to be available either he was fantastic before the whole squad became unsettled after Christmas
Great Ogbonna is just what we need for Costa,by then Marinio would have given up pretending he is giving the youngsters a game,
Ny time before Xmas will be good to get Song back but he will have trouble getting pass Obiang and Kouyate,
Can’t see us needing to spend in the transfer window unless we can get a very good right back or another Center half
But will Carroll and Zarate want to stay ?
Be great if we could push the Lanzini deal through early and try and get Moses permanently
Really believe Bilic can teach players humility. AC & Zarate can leave if they want to be superstars because they are surrounded by players with less ability.
Or they can be part of a strong squad that has the chance to win a trophy and qualify for Europe.
Bilic is still trying how to rotate players without weakening the side. I believe AC & Zarate would rather play in a strong team rather than be superstars.
In addition Bilic will make them understand they be superstars in a strong team
I agree Birzo,i think that Slaven can make the players buy into a united squad where you aint going to play every week but you will still be very much in his plans.I cant see him just neglecting a player because he isnt first choice.I think he will always talk to his players in the squad & not make them feel alienated because they are not regulars.If they dont buy into it i guess they can leave.Amalifitano looks like being the first 😉
I hope Zarate stays he always looks dangerous with his pace, dribbling and ability to go past defenders. Coming off the bench against Norwich they didn’t know how to handle him and he constantly had their defenders back peddling in a way which was missing before he came on. He done an amazing job against Arsenal and got injured against Leicester I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him i think he could be an important player for us especially if Lanzini starts to drop his form or gets injured.