Niclas Füllkrug has to postpone his comeback for West Ham United again. How much longer? Even coach Julen Lopetegui doesn’t know.
Niclas Füllkrug’s period of suffering continues, and there is no end in sight for the time being. The national striker, who has been out for almost five weeks with Achilles tendon and calf problems, will not be able to make his comeback for West Ham United on the upcoming eighth Premier League match day either. “Füllkrug is out,” confirmed coach Julen Lopetegui at his press conference on Thursday.
Füllkrug left the DFB team early after the Nations League home game against Hungary (5-0) on September 7, in which he scored his 14th goal in 22 international matches. “At the beginning, he had a not-so-serious injury, but then there were a few complications with the injury,” Lopetegui reported. Originally, it was assumed that he would be out for ‘a maximum of two weeks’.
Lopetegui: ‘I’d rather not say anything about that’
How long will he be out for instead? “No idea, I’d rather not say,” explained Lopetegui, who had already announced the return of his summer signing several times at advance press conferences in the past few weeks – but it never happened. “Hopefully he’ll be ready for the next few games,” said the Spaniard, speaking in very general terms.
Füllkrug, who also missed the recent internationals against Bosnia-Herzegovina (2-1) and the Netherlands (1-0), has made four appearances for his new club so far, three of them as a substitute. He is still waiting for his first goal. The Hammers could well do with his qualities.
After a slow start, West Ham have recently picked up four points from two games, including their first home win with a 4-1 victory over newly promoted Ipswich Town, who are still without a win. However, the Londoners, who were significantly strengthened over the summer, are still lagging far behind expectations in twelfth place in the table, and with Tottenham (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.) and Manchester United (October 27, 3 p.m.) now await, other calibers await them.