West Ham head to Nottingham Forest this weekend but there has been a rather surprising claim out of the club ahead of the trip.
What Julen Lopetegui really needs to get his West Ham tenure up and running is back-to-back wins in the Premier League.
The Hammers have the chance to do just that when they head to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
West Ham were lucky to go in level at half-time against Man United last time out.
But a superb second half display meant they deserved a touch of fortune in getting a much-needed 2-1 win.
West Ham will be facing a high-flying Forest side who have lost just once in the Premier League so far this season.
West Ham make surprise claim about Fullkrug ahead of Forest
So it will be far from easy.
Especially as the Hammers are without star player Mohammed Kudus due to suspension.
There are also concerns about another key player after what was seen in West Ham training 48 hours out from the game.
There has been some confusion, though, about one West Ham star who was believed to be missing for Nottingham Forest.
West Ham made a surprise claim about Niclas Fullkrug ahead of Nottingham Forest and Lopetegui responds.
Lopetegui responds to statement Fullkrug ‘will be assessed’
Fullkrug has barely kicked a ball in anger at West Ham.
He was restricted to three substitute appearances by Lopetegui to start the season
Fullkrug has been injured since the September international break and will miss his seventh game on the bounce when West Ham play Man United this weekend.
The striker went back to Germany for treatment again this week and rumours have abound he may be out until the new year.
A journalist close to the striker claimed the earliest Fullkrug will be back is Newcastle game at the end of November.
But West Ham have suggested the striker would be assessed before a decision is made for Forest in their official match preview.
“Forward Mohammed Kudus will serve the second match of his suspension against Nottingham Forest, having been sent-off at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday 19 October,” West Ham state.
“Meanwhile, fellow attacker Niclas Füllkrug continues to recover from the injury he sustained while away with Germany in September, and will likely be assessed once again.”
That has left some supporters bemused given what had been reported about Fullkrug’s injury lay-off.
Thankfully, though, the manager has provided some clarity.
‘Fullkrug definitely out with no return date’ says Hammers boss
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Lopetegui has confirmed the situation.
The Spaniard says Fullkrug is ‘definitely out’ and worse still has no date set for a return.
“Unfortunately Fullkrug is not ready to play,” Lopetegui said.
“He’s working on his recovery and so we don’t have a date for his recovery.
“He’s trying to do it with our medical staff but he’s out. Definitely.”
The extended lay-off piles more pressure on Tim Steidten over his striker decisions in the summer.
Especially after Jhon Duran scored yet again overnight, his eighth of the season so far.
Even if Fullkrug is back training ahead of the Newcastle game at the end of the month, he would have lost all his fitness and conditioning.
That would then mean more time building back up because otherwise West Ham risk him suffering a setback.
It’s a nightmare situation and Fullkrug is the latest to befall the ‘West Ham striker curse’ it seems.
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