Niclas Fullkrug to be prolific for West Ham next season amid injury update

West Ham United fans will feel an opportunity wasted this season with Niclas Fullkrug and his difficulty to stay fit.

The £27million man was set for his first crack at the Premier League, and despite scoring in three of the four games this season when he has played any longer than 68 minutes for West Ham or Germany, the fact it has only come on four occasions itself speaks volumes.

Fullkrug was signed as part of the lavish spending spree of last summer, but has not been one of the success stories as the season approaches the business end - through no fault of his own.

Fullkrug injury latest emerges

Both in the Bundesliga and on the international stage, Fullkrug developed later than most into a tremendous frontman, almost a throwback to the traditional target men of a bygone era.

The sense was always that if you could play to Fullkrug's strengths, the 32-year-old would deliver with regular goals and be a nightmare opponent for more modern centre-halves.

There are so many people who would take such satisfaction - even neutrals - from the bulldozing German to just completely tear through a top-six possession-based backline with his physical prowess and bag a hat-trick. A victory for 'real' football it may smugly seem.

Dr Rajpal Brar told West Ham Zone earlier this week that Fullkrug would be anticipated to play some bounce matches in the coming weeks to help get him up to speed, potentially to play some part as the season winds down.

Brar described Fullkrug's absence as defining a "Grade 3 - very significant muscular injury" to his hamstring - which if it doesn't settle when the forward edges back into action, could require surgery.

West Ham signed Ferguson as cover

With no buy option on the loan deal to sign Evan Ferguson in the January transfer window, it looks as if Graham Potter reunited with the Irishman to whom he gave his professional debut as cover.

Perhaps if West Ham hadn't splurged a net spend exceeding £80million last summer, they may have been able to sign Ferguson permanently as he was cast aside at the Amex Stadium.

Hindsight is wonderful, though, and the summer show of faith had to be placed in Fullkrug - who for his goalscoring record over recent years seemed a steal at £27million.

That record is pure proof that should he remain fit and have the service required from Potter's impressive array of forward talent, Fullkrug can be prolific next season, in the exact way a player like Chris Wood has been this term.

He may be 32, but the German focal point is a late bloomer and has plenty of time to impress in a Hammers shirt.