West Ham boss David Moyes set to make late fitness call on Thilo Kehrer ahead of Chelsea clash
West Ham manager David Moyes is set to make a late call over whether or not Thilo Kehrer will be available for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Chelsea, according to Football London.
The Germany international was withdrawn at half-time from the 1-1 draw with Newcastle United last time out at St James’ Park and replaced by Ben Johnson.
Claret and Hugh [7 February] reported that the German international was facing “between two and three weeks out” after a top source informed them that there were worries the defender could miss this weekend’s London derby clash with Chelsea at the London Stadium, with David Moyes not wanting to take any risks.
However, the 26-year-old was pictured amongst the players in training on Friday [10 February], with Hammers insider ExWHUemployee confirming on his Patreon page [West Ham Way, 9 February] that the defender could be in line to return against Chelsea.
And now according to Football.London [11 February] ahead of the London derby clash, Moyes faces a late decision on whether to include Kehrer in his match-day plans with a fitness test to follow.
Huge boost
This news comes as a huge boost to Hammers fans, especially considering how short they’ve been a centre-back in recent months.
It remains to be seen whether Kehrer will be included from the off against Chelsea, but the fact that he may well be in and around the matchday squad after a few days of training means he could well be available for the crucial run of fixtures both domestically and in Europe in the coming weeks.
The German man has formed a decent defensive trio with the likes of Angelo Ogbonna and Nayef Aguerd in recent weeks and Moyes may well have been sweating seeing the defender come off injured against the Magpies last weekend.
It is clear the former Everton manager needs his best players fit as he aims to navigate through a tough set of fixtures – games which could define the rest of the campaign. Huge boost.