Nuno Espirito Santo has not placed a timeline on Niclas Fullkrug’s return to fitness from a thigh injury suffered in training before the international break.
West Ham are awaiting the results of a scan to determine exactly how long Fullkrug will be out of action, while midfielder George Earthy, who suffered a hamstring injury last month, remains the only other absentee ahead of Nuno’s first home game in charge against Brentford on Monday evening.
Fullkrug - who is yet to score for the Hammers this season - has struggled to stay fit this term, having also suffered a calf injury on international duty in September, and Nuno said he hoped the 32-year-old would return to fitness soon.
“Niclas Fullkrug just had a scan and we are waiting on the results. It all depends on the scan. Hopefully it is soon,” Nuno said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“Apart from that, it is just George [Earthy] who is out.”
With Fullkrug absent, the Portuguese will now look to Callum Wilson, who has struggled with his own fitness problems, and 20-year-old academy graduate Callum Marshall to lead the line against the Bees.
Marshall has impressed Nuno in training, and it was a huge show of faith from the West Ham boss to bring him on ahead of Wilson against Arsenal.
Nuno admitted after the game that Marshall was competing for minutes with Fullkrug and Wilson, and the Hammers’ head coach said the Northern Ireland international would be in contention for a first Premier League start against Brentford.
“It is a healthy fight for the position. They're different players, but it's a good situation.”
