David Moyes will surely be buzzing for the return of Pablo Fornals after the international break, with the West Ham United midfielder expected to overcome his injury.
That’s according to Claret & Hugh, who claim that Fornals will be available for the Irons’ trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers on April 5th.
The Spanish maestro missed his side’s defeat to Manchester United and the 3-3 draw with Arsenal this month due to a groin issue sustained in the build-up to kick-off at Old Trafford, forcing Moyes to make a late change to his line-up.
Should Fornals start vs Wolves if fit?
Yes, he has to start
No, leave him out
Fornals was expected to make a quick return from the minor injury but failed to be passed fit for the Gunners’ visit to the London Stadium, despite Moyes confirming that the 25-year-old had been showing signs of improvement.
“We’ve got just about everybody the same [as against Manchester United],” Moyes said last Friday. “Pablo Fornals is improving, and, on the injury front, Angelo Ogbonna is closing in and getting much closer to fitness but he’s a wee bit away.”
Fornals had enjoyed a solid run in the West Ham side before being sent to the treatment room, with the £16m-rated playmaker opening three-straight Premier League games after being given just six minutes of action in the previous three combined.
The arrival of Jesse Lingard in January played a key role in Fornals’ falling to the side, with the Manchester United loanee taking over the Spaniard’s place in the XI at Aston Villa and instantly establishing himself with a debut double.
It was somewhat a surprise when Moyes opted to recall Fornals for last month’s London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur, but the two-time international justified his start with a lively showing.
Fornals again displayed his endless energy and ever-present drive to prove a handful against Manchester City the following week, before producing one of West Ham’s star performances at home to Leeds United to help the Hammers midfield establish a foothold.
Moyes will surely be buzzing to have Fornals back fit for West Ham’s trip to Wolves after the international break, so that he can once again unleash the ball of energy that the former Villarreal talent almost always promises to be.
The Irons boss has previously praised the £67,000-per-week playmaker for his energy and impact on the pitch, noting ahead of October’s trip to reigning Premier League champions Liverpool:
“Pablo has done really well. He’s a really likeable boy and works really hard for the team. We’re always demanding more from him because we want assists and goals for him, and he’s been doing that. His energy and enthusiasm is incredible.
“We have the makings of a young group of players who are doing well and giving us energy and we want to keep on doing that.”
Fornals went on to score at Anfield for his second of the Premier League season after finding the back of the net against Leicester City, in a match in which he also provided his second assist of the campaign.
But goals and assists dried up for the 25-year-old after the Merseyside defeat, making it no surprise that he lost out to Lingard. Yet Fornals was seemingly back on track before his injury with an assist against Tottenham to end a 14-game run with no contribution to the scoring. Moyes will be very happy to have him back to face Wolves.
AND in other news, a West Ham ace who joined at the “perfect moment” has seen his market value of crash by £16.5m…