Image Credits: Imago Images
Liverpool welcome West Ham to Anfield this weekend in a game that feels huge at both ends of the table, but manager Nuno Espírito Santo could travel without his headline January signing Pablo Felipe. The Brazilian forward arrived in East London amid plenty of excitement after a prolific spell with Gil Vicente.
West Ham spent around £22m to bring the 22‑year‑old to the Premier League, hoping he would fire them away from trouble and give Nuno a focal point to build his attack around.
Instead, Felipe has barely had the chance to get going. He picked up a calf injury shortly after making his early appearances for the Hammers, having already taken a heavy knock in the win over Burnley on February 7.
Speaking ahead of the trip to Anfield, Nuno confirmed that Felipe is still working away from the main group and will remain sidelined.
“He didn’t join us yet. He’s starting his individual programme, so he’s improving day by day,” he said as quoted by the Independent.
“Like I said, we keep assessing him to see when he can return.”
“It all depends on him, it depends on how he adapts to the loads again, so hopefully soon because we miss him.”
Santo also revealed that there are also “knocks” that will have to be assessed but stopped short of mentioning any names:
“You know what it is, always knocks and things to assess, but we have a training session tomorrow and then we travel,” Nuno added.
West Ham have not tasted victory at Anfield since 2015 and have been beaten in nine of the last ten clashes between the sides. However, the visitors know that three points this weekend would lift them out of the relegation zone ahead of Nottingham Forest’s trip to Brighton.
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