David Moyes offered an update on the fitness of his squad ahead of West Ham United’s Premier League fixture with Manchester United on Sunday.
Having won six home matches on the bounce in all competitions, Moyes will hope his side can take that impressive home form to Old Trafford – a place where the Irons had joy last season.
The Hammers defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the Carabao Cup, before a narrow 1-0 defeat in the Premier League last season thanks to Marcus Rashford’s stoppage-time winner.
Speaking to the media at Rush Green Training Ground on Friday afternoon, Moyes explained that Jarrod Bowen, who missed the midweek fixture against Silkeborg IF, has an ankle injury, but has been training on grass ahead of our trip to Manchester United.
“We need to see how Jarrod is,” explained Moyes. “We need to see if he can do many things. We need to see if he can twist and turn – all the other parts that come [with playing football].
“Every club is the same with the amount of fixtures, there are always chances there are injuries or knocks. But hopefully, we have come through last night not too bad.”
Moyes was pleased with the progress of Nayef Aguerd, who made his West Ham United debut in our 1-0 win against Silkeborg IF, as he steps up his return to first-team action and could feature again over the next few weeks.
Speaking on Thursday night, Moyes stated: “I was really pleased for Nayef. It was a good game for him to play in. There wasn’t a great deal of contact and we had a lot of the ball, and he’s a comfortable footballer.
“The physical side and the fitness are still to come a bit, and he’s got to get used to the Premier League. He needs a little bit of time to adapt, and we’ll give him that. I thought he did really well to play the best part of 75 minutes tonight.”
The Irons head to Manchester having secured their place in the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 after a Manuel Lanzini penalty secured a fifth straight win – and top spot in Group – last Thursday.
But Moyes confirmed the Hammers will be without Lucas Paquetá, who has been out of action since he picked up an injury in our 1-1 draw with Southampton.
“He is not available,” said Moyes. “He won't be available until next week.”
