OPINION
West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini has been forced to deal with a lot of injury absentees this season, but perhaps the one that has hurt the Chilean the most has been Fabian Balbuena.
The Paraguayan international has missed the last month and a half or so due to injury and he has been sorely missed by a Hammers team which has struggled in his absence.
The good – potentially game-changing – news, then, is that he is almost back to full fitness. In fact, West Ham insider Claret & Hugh reported on Wednesday that the 27-year-old is likely to be involved against Fulham next Friday.
There’s no overstating how important his return is to Pellegrini’s team. They have gone from looking extremely solid at the back with Balbuena present to an absolute train wreck without him. And it’s the performances of centre back Issa Diop in his absence that are most illuminating.
The Frenchman was considered one of the signings of the season at the start of the campaign, tipped for a big money move to one of European football’s heavyweights. However, since Balbuena has been absent, he’s looked like an inconsistent mess. His performances have fallen off a cliff.
Perhaps, then, it was Balbuena who was really running the show in the Hammers back four. Either way, his return will hopefully help bring the old Diop back. Really, West Ham will be getting two players for one.
Truly, the Paraguayan’s comeback cannot arrive quickly enough for West Ham, and after the news of his likely involvement against Fulham every fan must be raving over what will potentially be a huge game changer at the heart of the defence.