West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has issued a positive injury update ahead of his side's midweek clash with Manchester City.
The Chilean boss has contended with a swathe of injury problems over the past few months, with a number of Hammers players ruled out with long-term issues.
There is light at the end of the tunnel for Pellegrini though, with the Hammers boss revealing in his pre-match press conference that Argentine midfielder Manuel Lanzini did not have an adverse reaction to his 15-minute cameo against Fulham on Friday night, also revealing key defensive duo Winston Reid and Fabian Balbuena are back in training.
“We must be careful with [Manu], he did very well in his 15 minutes and the important thing was that he was not afraid and remembering his knee, so we will see what the best way is to get minutes in every game. You must be careful when you give more minutes," Pellegrini said, as quoted by West Ham's official website.
"[The squad] is similar [from the Fulham match for Wednesday’s game], we don't have any new injuries, we have the same players available.
“Balbuena and Winston Reid have started doing parts of the sessions with us so that is good news for them.”
Although neither will be ready for the game against City, Reid's return is a boost for the Hammers after more than a year out of action. Balbuena, meanwhile, is continuing his recovery from a knee injury picked up in the home defeat to Watford on December 22.
The Hammers boss went on to reveal his pleasure at the squad's attacking strength in depth, with Marko Arnautovic's recent return to fitness providing the former Manchester City manager with another timely boost.
“In the way we can play together with Lanzini, with Samir Nasri, with Arnautovic, with Javier [Hernandez] and the good players that we have, I think we are going to be a stronger team,” Pellegrini added.
“Antonio is improving. This season he returned from a long injury, which is not easy, especially for a player so strong, to recover their best shape. Michail Antonio is working very hard every day and that demonstrates why he is improving his performance. He is a player who must continue improving."
The Hammers trip to the Etihad Stadium will be followed up three days later with a return to the London Stadium and a home game with Newcastle.
Source : 90min