David Moyes has given an update on his squad ahead of Friday’s Premier League trip to take on Sheffield United.
West Ham United will play the Blades at Bramall Lane looking to win a third successive fixture under returning manager Moyes, having scored six goals and kept clean-sheets in the last two games.
With Ryan Fredericks coming off injured in the FA Cup third round victory away to Gillingham, Moyes has revealed the right-back will be out of action for a few weeks, but the defender is feeling confident about his hopes of an earlier return.
The manager also indicated that Michail Antonio and Jack Wilshere remain unavailable while Andriy Yarmolenko – who last featured in the away win at Southampton on 14 December – is also still out.
It looks like Ryan Fredericks has got a hamstring injury, which is going to keep him out for somewhere between four and six weeks.
David Moyes
“It looks like Ryan Fredericks has got a hamstring injury, which is going to keep him out for somewhere between four and six weeks,” Moyes said. “I spoke to him this morning and he seems to think he feels quite good and he doesn’t think he will be as long as that. I hope he is right.
“Michail Antonio is still feeling his hamstring. He is not available for the game. We were hoping to have him back but he’s not quite ready yet. Jack Wilshere has been in the gym and he’s been working outside as well. He is working towards coming back, but I couldn’t give you an exact date at the moment.
“Andriy has gone for another injection in his thigh, so we’re waiting for him to come back so we can see how the injection has gone. We hope he’s not going to be too long.”
Moyes also confirmed that captain Mark Noble and Aaron Cresswell, who both missed the Gillingham game, are working their way back into contention.
"They've both trained," he said. "Cressy was the one – he hasn’t really trained until yesterday, but he’s trained today."
Having been in his post for just under two weeks, Moyes also gave the gathered media for his pre-match press conference an update on his backroom team at West Ham.
“We're looking at the team we’re bringing in,” added the Scot, who has appointed Alan Irvine as his assistant. “I couldn’t say if I was going to have it all together just now. It could be the summer before I have all my staff together.
“There are several people looking for a position, and there are also other people we have in mind as well. Hopefully, in the coming weeks, we will get around to speaking to them.”
