While the sending off of West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus dominated most headlines following the team’s 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, Niclas Füllkrug’s absence from the Hammers’ bench did not go unnoticed.
Claret & Hugh were informed last week by a high-ranking West Ham source that the German striker had a slim chance of making the bench for the Premier League game against Tottenham. We were told that Füllkrug’s absence was more about fitness than injury, and it was strongly suggested that the £27 million signing from Borussia Dortmund was on his way back.
This conflicted with a report from Hammers ITK ExWHUEmployee, who informed his Patreon followers that Füllkrug could be out for several weeks.
Since then, numerous stories and reports have emerged citing the striker’s poor injury record and suggesting that the German international was always expected to spend periods on the side-lines.
I believe the club has done all it can to prevent negative information about any potential injury from surfacing, but I fear we are about to find out precisely how good or bad Füllkrug’s injury situation is.
The 31-year-old is still absent from West Ham’s training ground videos, and one would expect the club to be eager to show he is on the road to recovery. Therefore, I can only surmise that he is not yet participating in training, which is a concern in itself.
If Füllkrug is not present for next weekend’s Premier League fixture against Manchester United, the worst predictions and reports will become a bit more believable. Not only do West Ham need Füllkrug to return, but he needs to be highly effective when he does so; anything less will call into question the wisdom of purchasing the player in the first place.
