Signing a striker for £27 million, only for him to get injured and require surgery before making his Premier League start, sounds like a very West Ham sort of story.
Whether the rumours are true is hard to tell at the moment, but certainly Niclas Füllkrug’s early diagnosis and predicted return to action have proven to be inaccurate.
For those who have been hiding under a rock for the past month, Füllkrug was injured on international duty in September while training with Germany. It was suggested that his Achilles would mend quickly, and he was expected to return to action within one or two games. Unfortunately, it hasn’t quite turned out like that.
During a conversation with the club last week, Claret & Hugh were informed that the German striker would return to face Tottenham on October 19th. However, rumour’s began to circulate over the weekend that the injury was worse than initially believed, and attempts to re-join Hammers training have ended with the player experiencing considerable pain.
As Martin wrote earlier, C&H approached a top West Ham insider today who was unable to either confirm or deny the rumours that Füllkrug may need to go under the surgeon’s knife.
If the worst fears turn out to be true, it would put immense pressure on Michail Antonio, who has flown out to the Caribbean for two Nations League games with Jamaica. It’s a far-from-ideal scenario with the Hammers relying on a fatigued and injury-prone 34-year-old to lead the line.
That is not to diminish Antonio’s quality, particularly considering he looked back to his very best in the Irons’ 4-1 win against Ipswich at the weekend. It’s more the fact that he’s become so incredibly important and such a vital component of a West Ham improvement that hinges too heavily on injury-prone senior forwards.
Signed a 31 year old injury proned foward for 27million .good work tim .worthy of your reputation should have brought back andy carrol.
Hey Gonzo
It’s obviously unfortunate, but I’m not overly worried. We have Bowen and Kudus who can interchange up-front/right side, with the addition of Summerville on the left providing the balance we lacked last season.
I would play Ings in a supporting 10 role – he’s better there than as a solo 9 – instead of Paqueta, who has been decidedly off the boil recently.
We haven’t seen enough of Soler yet, who has been ‘safe’ during his initial appearances and shown nothing to excite. We then have Antonio who can play 20/30 here and there to mix things up.
Excuse my ignorance, but have all our promising fringe first-team academy players gone out on loan?
i come here to watch our fans moan at choosing to read articles they can’t write themselves
welcome to our world!
A few hours ago ye had an article up complaining that our players are not getting called up by England now your moaning about the risk of Injury on international duty make yere mind up please 😀
Both Kudus and Bowen are proven in the centre of attack. We’ve also got Ings. Antonio isn’t the only option. No need to panic.