David Moyes says Manuel Lanzini could return to his starting XI when West Ham United take on Liverpool on Saturday.
The Argentina attacking midfielder has successfully recovered from a hamstring injury suffered in the Premier League draw with AFC Bournemouth at London Stadium on 20 January.
After a month of treatment and rehabilitation, manager Moyes revealed the No10 could be in line for a recall to his team at Anfield, but that a final decision will not be made until the morning of the match.
I can tell you that Manu is back, he’s running around, he’s training with us and hopefully that's him fit for the rest of the season
David Moyes
“It’s good news, we've got a lot of players back training,” said the boss, when asked for his team news in Friday afternoon’s press conference at Rush Green. “We're getting much closer to having a full squad.
“Obviously we are without the long-termers Andy Carroll, Pedro Obiang and Edi Fernandes, but in the main I think we're getting very close to getting the players back.
“Manu Lanzini could [return this weekend]. He has been training, so he’s an important player for us, but he’s not played any games, so it’s one of those decisions we’ll take tomorrow.
“I would be tempted to start him, but I’m certainly not going to give my team news out, but all I can tell you is that he's back, he’s running around, he’s training with us and hopefully that's him fit for the rest of the season.
“Winston Reid is back training and is back in the squad. We had a practice match at the training ground over a week ago and he got some minutes in that, so hopefully it did him some good.”
West Ham have not contested a Premier League fixture since beating Watford 2-0 at London Stadium on 10 February, and Moyes says his players have enjoyed the right mix of rest, recovery, hard work and preparation to ensure they are ready to tackle the Reds come Saturday at three o’clock.
“We had a practice match and gave the players a little bit of time off, because they’re earnt it with the results and their performances up until now, they’ve done a really good job.
“I have got to say we’ve also worked them hard because we’re going into the business end of the season and we need to be winning games and playing well and in good shape, so hopefully we’ll get the benefit in the coming weeks.”