West Ham and Liverpool face off this weekendplaceholder image
West Ham and Liverpool face off this weekend | Getty Images
A look at the early injury news surrounding West Ham and Liverpool as they prepare to face off in the Premier League.
West Ham face a huge test in their bid to secure survival this weekend as they travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool. The Hammers have now closed the gap to two points after a draw with AFC Bournemouth last time out, but they still have plenty of work to do, and they are now on a run of tough fixtures.
Liverpool are locked in a battle for a top four finish, and they are now level on points with Chelsea and three points behind Manchester United in fourth after a scrappy late win over Nottingham Forest last time out. Here we round up the early injury news surrounding both teams coming into this one.
Conor Bradley - Out
Bradley suffered a season-ending knee injury in January and will be back towards the end of the year.
Giovanni Leoni - Out
Leoni also saw his season ended by a knee injury, and he will be back in the late summer.
Wataru Endo - Out
Slot confirmed last week: “Wataru will be out for a long time. We don't know exactly how long, but long.” Early indications suggest the midfielder will be out until at least May.
Alexander Isak - Out
Isak won’t be back until April time, but Slot provided a positive update last week. He said: “Alex has been on the pitch with his running shoes for the first time this week, so it will still be a while. The next step is doing work with the ball, and then going into the group - it takes a while before you're ready to play. Let's not put a timescale on it, but it's clear he will be available if things go as planned this season.”
Jeremie Frimpong - Doubt
Frimpong could be involved here, with Slot saying last week: “Jeremie will not be involved this weekend yet. We hope he will be involved next week... if things go as planned.”
Florian Wirtz - Doubt
Wirtz picked up an issue last time out, and Slot said afterwards: “We don't think it is very serious, but he felt his back too much during the warm-up. He wasn't able to be 100 per cent or even close. I think after being in this league for 6,7 or 8 months, he now understands no matter how good you are on the ball, you need to be 100 per cent at this level. So, we decided not to play him. We hope and expect he will be able to be with us again next week but you never know how things work out.”
Freddie Potts - Out (Suspended)
Potts is out until mid-March following his red card in the FA Cup.
Pablo Felipe - Out
Santo has said: “We have to go day-by-day and assess him. Getting better each day, and hopefully, he can join us soon.” It’s expected the calf injury will keep Pablo out for a couple of weeks at least.
Lukasz Fabianski - Out
Fabianski is finally back in training but it will take some time to be ready to play, and he is not likely to be one of the top two options in any case.
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