West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini has provided a major update on Marko Arnautovic’s fitness for their upcoming clash with Wolves, revealing that the striker has been in training all week.
Arnautovic limped off in the first half against Arsenal last weekend after taking a knock to his knee, and there have been concerns about his fitness ahead of Saturday’s crucial clash with Wolves.
Pellegrini has now provided the latest update on Arnautovic’s fitness as he confirmed the forward had been training all week but stopped short of declaring him definitely fit for the match.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference, as quoted by football.london (12:33), Pellegrini said: “He has a small problem behind his knee for the last game but he has worked the whole week.”
The Chilean was then pressed on the matter later in the presser (12:44), and said: “Marko is so strong, he challenges every ball. No other concerns over the squad.”
OPINION
Pellegrini has been annoyingly unclear on Arnautovic’s fitness here, but it does look like the Austria international should be fit to face Wolves. The fact that he has been training all week suggests that he will be good to go against Wolves, despite initial concerns about the injury. Having Arnautovic back will be key for Pellegrini, who is still searching for his first Premier League win as West Ham manager after three consecutive defeats to start the season. The Austrian is a key player for the Hammers up front, and their game plan fell apart after his withdrawal when they were level with Arsenal at the weekend. Pellegrini’s other options up front are in poor form, with Lucas Perez and Javier Hernandez both disappointing hugely in midweek against Wimbledon. Pellegrini will therefore be hoping that Arnautovic can recover in time for Saturday afternoon’s clash as he searches for their first league points of the season.
