ExWHUemployee has revealed that the operation West Ham United defender Kurt Zouma had on his knee recently was only ‘minor’ and he could return in time for Boxing Day.
Just before Premier League football was paused while the World Cup takes place in Qatar, the French centre-back picked up an injury that saw him come off early in their most recent clash.
At first, it was only expected to be a small issue and Zouma was reportedly said to likely be fit for West Ham when domestic football returns in late December when they face Arsenal in the league.
However, since then, Ex had reported the player has had to have surgery to try to put an end to his recurring knee problems once and for all.
In a further update on the situation, while speaking on The West Ham Way podcast, the insider explained that the club have been ‘cagey’ about details, but the operation is said to have only been ‘minor’.
Ex stated: “I don’t know the precise details of the operation because the club are being very cagey on it. I think they don’t want to reveal whether he will be back early or not – it would affect, obviously, team selection, but it will also affect transfer policy.
“They haven’t set a specific return date, but it was described to me as a minor operation.
“So it could be that it’s just to clear up a few things around the knee, bring down some swelling, things like that. And if that’s the case, he may still be back for Arsenal.
“I’d say it’s unlikely because any knee operation, you’re going to need a period of recovery, but at this point, we don’t know what the situation is.”
TIF Thoughts on Kurt Zouma and West Ham…
If you look at the player’s injury history, you can see that Zouma has struggled with knee issues long before he even joined the Hammers.
In fact, Ex has even stated that when the player joined the club, there had been ‘concerns regarding his knee’, but they felt they could manage them.
And part of managing those issues seems to have landed them in this tricky situation, where they decided it would be best to operate to potentially overcome his problems for good.
If the surgery was only minor, that certainly sounds positive. As of yet, though, details remain vague and so it remains to be seen if he will be back soon after the World Cup or if this is something that could keep Zouma out well into the new year.