Manuel Pellegrini has revealed centre back Winston Reid is only a few of weeks away from a potential return to competitive match action after nearly 18 months on the sidelines.
The Kiwi defender has not been seen on the pitch since the friendly defeat to Newcastle in Shanghai last month having appeared in the first three friendles of the summer.
But he was not involved in the games against Fulham, Hertha Berlin and Athletic Bilbao and there were rumours the centre half had suffered a setback.
That was never true as the club is simply taking it very carefully with his recovery and football.london revealed earlier this month that Reid is on his own individual training regime as well as joining in with some full squad training.
Reid suffered a knee injury against Swansea City way back in March 2018 and was concussed in that game as well which forced him to miss the rest of the 2017/18 season. He then suffered a recurrence of the problem in pre-season training ahead of last season and missed the entire campaign.
So his return to pre-season training was seen as a welcome boost earlier this summer but his absence ever since had led some fans to wonder what the future hold for the Hammers second-longest serving player currently at the club behind Mark Noble.
Pellegrini said on Thursday, briefly: "Winston Reid continues to be injured but for only a couple of weeks more."
How long it will take for the Kiwi centre half to regain full fitness is not yet known but judging by Pellegrini's comments, he could be in for a return to full training with the first team after the upcoming international break.
West Ham signed Goncalo Cardoso at a fourth-choice centre back from Boavista earlier this summer which has effectively pushed Reid down the pecking order behind the teenager, with Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna and Fabian Balbuena also in the first team squad.
