- Niclas Fullkrug was out of action for three months with a hamstring injury
- He has made two substitute appearances sine returning from the injury
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Graham Potter admits West Ham still need to assess Niclas Fullkrug’s fitness before deciding if he can make his first start since January at Premier League leaders Liverpool.
The German striker has made just two substitute appearances after returning from a three-month hamstring injury but made an immediate impact in both, hitting the bar and setting up a late chance to snatch a point against Wolves before finding the net with a bullet header seven minutes after coming on in the draw against Bournemouth.
Potter is desperate to get Fullkrug into his starting line-up with only relegation-doomed Leicester scoring fewer league goals than West Ham since he replaced Julen Lopetegui – but admits he has to remain patient.
‘Clearly, he’s a top player,’ said Potter. ‘You can see from the impact that he’s had. He gives us different outlets, different possibility in our attacking play. He’s got a great personality.
‘We like him a lot, but he’s had a season that’s been really complicated in terms of injury, so we’re now managing that process and trying to make sure that he gets enough time on the pitch safely that we can get the most out of him.
‘He just had a little bit of, not fatigue, but just making sure that he’s okay after the weekend. He’s trained with the team today, so hopefully there’s no reaction and he’ll be in the squad for the weekend.’
Graham Potter admits West Ham still need to assess Niclas Fullkrug’s fitness before Sunday
The German striker has made just two substitute appearances after returning from injury
Fullkrug scored against Bournemouth last week to show West Ham what they have been missing during his injury layoff
How Potter needs him. West Ham were booed off at half-time in their draw against Bournemouth before Fullkrug’s introduction around the hour-mark turned the game and now face a Liverpool side destined for the title and with talisman Mohammed Salah on a high after signing his new contract.
West Ham have taken just 12 points from their first 11 games under Potter and could drop to 17th if results go against them this weekend.
Their Fullkrug-less attack continues to flop, too, with only Leicester attempting fewer shots per game than the Hammers under Potter.
‘Well, we’ve had no Fullkrug, no Michail Antonio, no Crysencio Summerville, and Jarrod Bowen has been out for half of that time,’ said Potter, who made his first priority shoring up West Ham’s leaky defence.
‘You talk about this attacking talent but if you concede over two goals a game, it doesn’t matter who you’ve got in the pitch, you’re going to suffer. We’ve had to address that.
‘You always understand when you when you’re a Premier League side, especially a club with he demands here that if you’re losing in a half time then people aren’t going to be happy about that. Our performance level can improve.
‘The scoreline does affect things sometimes. We’re not saying it was champagne football (against Bournemouth) by any means. It probably wasn’t as bad either.
‘From our perspective, we know where we’ve made progress. In the 25 matches before we came in, you’re looking at over 50 goals conceded.
‘If that’s the start point, we’ve made some we’ve made some progress but, at the same time, it’s a balance between defence and attack, and we need to attack better. We want to play better, but that’s where the work is.
‘We have to go from game to game, day to day, to try and improve and finish the season off as strong as we can.’
