Julen Lopetegui provides Jarrod Bowen fitness update at West Ham
Julen Lopetegui is not putting a timeframe on Jarrod Bowen’s recovery but is not ruling out a return within weeks rather than months.
Bowen picked up an injury in his side’s 5-0 defeat against Liverpool, having to be substituted off during the game.
It has since been confirmed that the attacker has suffered a fracture on his foot which will set him for a period on the sidelines while he recovers.
Lopetegui hasn’t given a clear idea of how long Bowen will be missing but is hoping for positive developments as he said in his pre-match press conference: “Let’s see [how long he’s going to be out for], but he’s going to be out for a few days for sure.
“Unfortunately for us, he has an injury, and now he has to recover.
“It’s not good news, but we are sure he will work hard on his recovery because of his character.
“I prefer not to give a number of days, but we’ll see how things develop.”
West Ham have to prepare for life without Jarrod Bowen
As usual, Lopetegui has not given too much away in his pre-match press conference but despite playing this one down, it would be surprising to see Bowen back anytime too soon.
The winger has been a rare bright spark in the Hammers side this term with five goals and four assists across the campaign so far and with his side struggling he will certainly be a miss.
Fairly, the boss isn’t keen to put a number of this recovery as he will be hoping that his star player can get back to fitness quicker than anticipated but Lopetegui will need to be making plans to deal without the 28-year-old for a prolonged period.
It would be a massive boost for the Irons if Bowen was available sooner rather than later but with Michail Antonio also missing through injury, the Spanish boss has to prioritise adding goals to his squad from elsewhere during this transfer window.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers turned down a striker now delivering in the Premier League for a rival club.
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