West Ham have been given a huge boost with the news that forward Marko Arnautovic could be back in training next week.
The five-goal Austrian suffered a hamstring injury against Cardiff on December 4 and was expected to be sidelined until well into the new year.
? Marko Arnautovic could return before the end of the year.#COYIhttps://t.co/sSDY3SmRlz pic.twitter.com/QdtZs24JyY
— Read West Ham (@ReadWestHam) December 20, 2018
But boss Manuel Pellegrini revealed Arnautovic is ahead of schedule, meaning he could even be involved in the squad against Southampton on December 27 and Burnley three days later.
“We will need to see his last examination, but I think that next week he will start working with the team,” said Pellegrini.
West Ham handed possible boost with Marko Arnautovic hoping to overcome hamstring injury before the New Year https://t.co/gkmYUImpAb pic.twitter.com/ZeHAUpQvzf
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) December 20, 2018
The outlook is less optimistic for injury-plagued Jack Wilshere, who has played just five minutes since September due to two separate ankle problems.
“We don’t know (when he will be back), we will need to wait for the medical assessment but for this moment, we cannot be sure,” said Pellegrini.