West Ham have been hit with a new injury scare as reports emerge from the Germany camp about striker Niclas Fullkrug.
When Michail Antonio, Danny Ings and Evan Ferguson all left West Ham in the summer, the Hammers were expected to go out and sign a top new young forward.
After all that is what West Ham have needed for years, hence the club’s 12-month long – and ultimately fruitless – pursuit of Jhon Duran.
Hammers fans fully expected the club to go out and sign at least one young, pacy striker who can be West Ham’s main man up front for years to come.
Signing injury-prone 33-year-old free agent Callum Wilson was a controversial move which angered West Ham supporters.
West Ham look a striker light after summer window
Especially as their only other senior forward, Niclas Fullkrug, turns 33 this season himself and is also seriously prone to injury.
Fullkrug’s injury record was there for all to see before West Ham paid £27m to bring him to east London from Dortmund.
So it should have been no real surprise when Fullkrug spent two thirds of his debut season in the treatment room with two significant injuries.
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There were claims Graham Potter told West Ham’s owners he did not want an expensive new forward this summer, preferring to spend the bulk of his budget on midfield.
Niclas Fullkrug during Nottingham Forest v West Ham United - Premier League
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
That was clearly a necessity but given the age and injury records of Wilson and Fullkrug, many have argued signing a striker was just as vital.
Wilson has actually looked decent on the evidence so far, shining and scoring in the win over Forest.
On the other hand Fullkrug, who is a hugely popular character among the club’s fans, has not looked up to the required standard for a Premier League striker since arriving at the club last summer.
Two key commodities for any successful Premier League forward are pace and mobility. Fullkrug has neither.
West Ham’s instant regret after Fullkrug injury recurrence scare
And his biggest attribute, strength, looks to have been overblown too with no player losing more duels than the German so far this season.
Fullkrug was subbed off halfway through another poor display at Forest with Wilson impressing in his stead.
There was surprise – even among Hammers fans – when Fullkrug was called up by Germany for World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Northern Ireland.
It shows the dearth of striking talent available to Julian Nagelsmann.
Now West Ham have been hit with instant regret after Fullkrug suffered an injury recurrence scare.
Niclas Fullkrug suffers a significant injury in Graham Potter's first game in charge of West Ham at Aston Villa
Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images
After spending over three months out through an injury sustained in last September’s international break with Germany, Fullkrug was then injured again in Potter’s first game in charge of the Hammers in January.
The calf and tendon issue kept him out for another three months.
Fullkrug’s issues with injury and the pace of the Premier League were key reasons Potter and head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay were keen to bring in dynamic young Senegal powerhouse Idrissa Gueye.
West Ham’s board were left embarrassed by Gueye on deadline day.
It has been repeatedly pointed out that West Ham do not have enough depth up front with Fullkrug and Wilson their only senior forwards.
Now the owners will be feeling deep regret and concern as reports filter through from Germany of an injury to Fullkrug.
Deja vu for West Ham as Fullkrug suffers injury on Germany duty
German outlets including BuliNews claim Nagelsmann has been forced to act quickly to replace Fullkrug for Germany’s game against Northern Ireland this weekend.
Maximilian Beier has been called up for the first time in a year to replace the West Ham striker.
That’s after he was left with only one designated striker in his squad – Newcastle United’s new record signing Nick Woltemade – after Fullkrug suffered a reported calf injury.
Potter will now know how Nagelsmann feels if Fullkrug is ruled out yet again, because it leaves Wilson as his only recognised senior forward.
And, as West Ham fans know only too well, Wilson has spent a full three Premier League seasons out injured in the last five.
Injury-prone Wilson could be West Ham’s last man standing
Fullkrug is believed to have suffered the injury in the warm-up for Germany’s game against Slovakia, which they lost 2-0.
It is suggested Fullkrug will now return to West Ham.
The severity of the injury has not been confirmed.
But talk that it was his calf gives rise to fears Fullkrug has suffered a recurrence of the problem which plagued him and West Ham last season.
That would be a complete disaster for the Hammers after failing – or refusing – to go out and sign a young striker to complement the arrival of the experienced Wilson in the summer window.