West Ham United are, generally, a relatively fit side this March international break, but they still do have four injury concerns, in the form of Nicklas Fullkrug, Vladimir Coufal, Crysencio Summerville and Michail Antonio. West Ham are coming off a score draw over the weekend with Everton FC.
Those same two clubs will square off again in July, for a summer preseason friendly in Chicago.
ICYMI, the club held a clever pizza-themed publicity stunt to promote that match. You can see the footage of that over at this link.
Nicklas Fullkrug
Fullkrug has been out with a hamstring injury for several weeks now, but he could return on April 1, when the Hammers visit Wolves.
“Niclas has been training with the group but isn’t ready to start certainly,” Irons boss Graham Potter said on Thursday.
“We’ll assess him over the next day or two, but we’re probably looking more after the international break.”
Vladimir Coufal
Also has a hamstring injury, but it’s rather minor. Still he didn’t make the squad yesterday, so it is severe enough. With a couple weeks off now to recover and heal, the defender should be fine to feature in the next match.
Crysencio Summerville
Yet another hamstring problem, and another April 1 return.
“From my perspective, it was always clear – it will be after the international break,” Potter said on Thursday. “Like with anything, I think it’s fair for the individual to treat the diagnosis and treatment privately. That’s always the case.”
Michail Antonio
Had previously been ruled out until well into next season, but there is a chance he might feature, in some capacity, at the very tail end of this season. Antonio is apparently progressing pretty well from the broken leg that he suffered in that horrific December car accident.
“It’s too early to say [if he’ll be back this season],” Potter said in the same press conference.
“I don’t want to put any type of deadline pressure on him. It’s great he’s making the progress that he is. We need to keep supporting him, it’s day-by-day, week-by-week, and then we’ll see.”
International Break Injury Updates
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Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.