BREAKING: Julen Lopetegui most inform £27.5 million beast” suffers serious set back from injury huddles” per report” he could miss double crucial fixtures…
Niclas Fullkrug, a £27.5 million summer acquisition, will not be available for West Ham’s upcoming London derbies against Chelsea and Fulham, two Premier League rivals.
This week, the 31-year-old was playing for Germany on its international assignment, making an appearance in the team’s opening game against Hungary. Unfortunately, because of an injury sustained while playing for his nation, the player will now be unable to participate in Tuesday night’s match against the Netherlands.
Over the weekend, Fullkrug suffered an injury to his Achilles tendon. Although Germany’s manager Julian Naglesmann had acknowledged it was “not yet clear whether he can play” against the Netherlands, a condition like that would probably require weeks away from the field.
To the club’s relief, Hammers News reports that the striker has Achilles tendinitis instead of a ruptured tendon. Should that be the case, the summer signing’s layoff will only last a few weeks as opposed to months.
The injury comes at a poor time for Fullkrug, who finally found his scoring boots when playing for Germany last week having not hit the net in his first four West Ham appearances. The talisman found form as he netted the first goal for Germany against Hungary, kickstarting a 5-0 romp.
West Ham travel to Craven Cottage this weekend to take on Marco Silva’s Fulham side as Julen Lopetegui continues to looks for his second league win as Hammers boss. The Cottagers sit just one place and one point above West Ham in 12th.
Following that, West Ham welcome Chelsea to The London Stadium on Saturday 21 before a Carabao Cup trip to Anfield on September 25. Lopetegui will no doubt hope to have Fullkrug back and available for selection ASAP, with this visit to Brentford at the end of the month perhaps a reasonable target.
In the meantime, the new arrival’s absence could provide forgotten West Ham man Danny Ings to step up to the plate amid reports of a potential renaissance under Lopetegui.
