West Ham United manager David Moyes has given an update on the fitness of forward Michail Antonio, ahead of the Irons’ Premier League fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
The Hammers will play host to the Seagulls the day after Boxing Day looking to return to winning ways, having struggled to convert their general good play into chances in defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Last season’s top scorer Michail Antonio has been sidelined with a hamstring problem since West Ham’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa at the end of November and Moyes has offered a further update on the No30's fitness status.
“Michy’s back on the grass training,” the manager told his pre-match press conference.
“We'll hopefully get him back as quick as we can. We can't say exactly when that’s going to be. We’ll monitor him daily. He's coming on well so hopefully it’ll not be too long.”
Moyes has already secured the acquisition of a young talent in the January transfer window, with promising Denmark U21 international defender Frederik Alves having agreed to join the Club to continue his development in east London.
The manager confirmed, however, that the prospect of further additions to the team during the winter window will only be explored on an as-needed basis.
Moyes added: “As far as the January transfer window goes, we don't really have any big intentions of making signings, but if we need it, the owners have said that they would help if we require it. Obviously that’ll be to do with injuries or anything else that crops up.
“Overall, if we need it, I think we’ll try and go and get it, but again we’re talking about January, and it's not always a great market.
“We'll continue trying to build a squad, but more importantly a good team. Where we’re weaker or short, we’d probably try and look to get somebody in, but it's not always the case that you can get the players you want and not always are the [right] players available.”
