What we know as Tomas Soucek makes long-awaited West Ham return in behind-closed-doors friendly

West Ham look to be boosted by the return of Tomas Soucek when the international break ends.

The Czech midfielder has been out of action since sustaining an injury at the 2026 World Cup.

Soucek was unable to feature throughout the whole of pre-season and has been a crucial missing cog for the Hammers.

Nonetheless, the Irons have been trucking on without him, managing to sit second in the Championship table so far.

However, the West Ham star has now returned to action with emerging details of a behind-closed doors friendly.

And Soucek got quite involved in the events of the fixture.

Who did West Ham play, and how many minutes did Tomas Soucek get?

Playing a friendly over the international break is a common decision, especially with this being an extended set of national team fixtures.

The Hammers have wasted no time in standing still, with many players still at Rush Green over these last two weeks.

Now, it has emerged that the Irons took on League One side Wycombe Wanderers are they prepare for domestic football to return.

The game took place on the afternoon of 2 October, with the East Londoners securing a 2-0 win according to journalist Sam Tabuteau.

Soucek was handed 65 minutes as he begins to build up his match fitness ahead of a possible return.

And the Czech international was on the scoresheet as per the information shared with Soucek scoring from a penalty.

Overall, a positive bit of news emerging for the E20 side during the ongoing international break.

Could Soucek start for West Ham vs QPR?

While he may be able to feature for 65 minutes in a friendly, it may be too early to chuck him straight back into the fray in a more competitive and intense setting.

And putting him in during what is a London derby would not be a smart play.

The Hammers will not want a reoccurence of the injury that kept him out, so continuing to slowly build him back up to play must be the priority.

Either way, a 65 minute performance is still a positive sign for Nuno Espirito Santo, who will undoubtedly be keen to add Soucek's experience to his squad.

And it should hopefully not be long until he becomes a consistent option for West Ham's promotion hopes.