West Ham United news: Gianluca Scamacca could return to training this week after knee injury
West Ham United summer signing Gianluca Scamacca could return to training this week after nursing a knee injury, according to injury expert Ben Dinnery.
The Hammers were forced to bolster their attacking options in the January transfer window through the acquisition of Danny Ings, as it was feared the Italian forward could be out for around a month. [Kaveh Solhekol, 20 January]
Scamacca, 24, has struggled to hit the ground running since his summer switch from Sassuolo, scoring just three goals from his 16 Premier League appearances, but will likely be a key cog in David Moyes’ relegation scrap.
Speaking to Give Me Sport, injury analyst Dinnery said: “Scamacca again, we know that he’s been having injections in that knee to try and hasten that recovery process.
“He shouldn’t be too far away, we could see him get some good time on the training pitches this week; we know he’s had that final injection, so again it’s his body’s response to that.
“All being well, I think we could see Scamacca back on the training pitches with the group this week.”
Quicker than expected
The news that Scamacca is back on the grass following a string of knee injections will come as welcome news to Hammers fans, as they desperately need a consistent source of goals if they wish to blast their way out of trouble.
After 21 games this season, the Scot’s side has still only scored 18 goals, which will clearly need to improve in the coming weeks. A 2-0 win over Everton, backed up by the 1-1 draw at St James Park, suggests Moyes is finally getting a grip on things at the London Stadium.
With Scamacca, Ings, Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen all fully fit as attacking options Moyes should have plenty of fire power to steer clear of the relegation zone, but he must find the best way to utilise them all and keep them all happy.
Antonio’s public cry for a January transfer was a damning sign of the 59-year-old’s lack of man-management this term, and he must get all of these strikers on his wavelength if he is to succeed.