West Ham Striker Edging Closer to Injury Return After Two Months on the Sidelines

​West Ham Under-23s striker Xande Silva is nearing a return to full fitness, and he could be back in action by the end of the month. The 21-year-old has been recovering from a hamstring injury and may have an outside chance of forcing himself into the first team picture before the transfer window opens in January. 

Silva joined the club from Vitória Guimarães in the summer, and settled in quickly by scoring a four minute hat-trick against Tottenham on his Premier League 2 debut. The youngster has also represented Portugal at every youth level from Under-15s to Under-20s. 

​​Manager Manuel Pellegrini has shown that he's not afraid of blooding youth into his first team squad; the highly rated Declan Rice has featured 12 times for the Hammers this season, whilst youngster Grady Diangana has tasted first team action on seven occasions. 

The forward area has been an area West Ham have been looking to strengthen. ​Marko Arnautovic has shouldered most of the goal scoring responsibility with five goals so far this campaign, whilst the likes of ​Javier Hernandez and Lucas Perez have struggled to chip in. ​Andy Carroll remains a constant injury headache, and is currently a long term absentee for Pellegrini's side. 

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If Silva can perform when he eventually returns to full fitness, the conditions might be right for him to force himself into the first team and establish himself in the Premier League. If ​West Ham get a favourable draw in the FA Cup in January, then Silva might just find himself playing some minutes this season. 


Source : 90min